Cost of Revenge: Control
by Captain Anon
Summary: Tommy Oliver has a score to settle, but when Lord Zedd makes him an offer he can't refuse, will he lose more than he bargained for? Dark AU, MMPR. Part I of III of the Cost of Revenge Series.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note:** All right, here's the beginning of my new fic. I'm excited about this fic like you wouldn't believe it. Thanks to psycochick32, my beta, for helping with the editing and fleshing out the story. _

_Just a note: This fic is an Evil Green Ranger fic (where the _What Are We Doing_ oneshot/preview came from), but it's written from the limited perspective of Tommy (third person). The only things similar to the show are some character traits. The story idea and everything else is all mine. This fic is COMPLETELY different than my other fic _Shards of Darkness_, so don't look for characters to be the same. This fic has a totally different tone and flow to it than anything else I've written._

_That being said, without further delay, here's the fic. As always, please read and review. All feedback is greatly appreciated._

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**Angel Grove High School**

**Ms. Appleby's History Class**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**Tuesday, 11:19 AM**

Tommy Oliver sat in the back of Ms. Appleby's history class, slouched low in his seat in the far left corner. His notebook was open but not a single word was written on the lined paper. His dark denim jeans hung low on his hips, green sweatshirt on, hood covering his face. He was staring blankly at the clock at the front of the room, willing it to move forward.

"Tommy?"

He blinked slowly, eyes moving to Ms. Appleby's troubled face.

"Yes, Ms. Appleby?" he asked in what he hoped was a nice voice.

"Are you focused?"

He lifted his pencil in the air, plastering a large smile on his face. "Always."

She smiled in his direction, going back to her lesson on the Louisiana Purchase.

Tommy's smile fell quickly, and he dropped the pencil onto his desk, resuming his staring contest with the clock. He could feel someone looking at him from his right, and he didn't have to turn to know who it was.

Kimberly.

Tommy turned to meet her questioning gaze, grinning widely with a salacious glint in his eyes. He leaned over, arm resting on top of her notebook as his lips hovered near her cheek. He could hear the slight gasp she let out at their proximity.

"See something you like, pink ranger?" he asked huskily.

She coughed suddenly, turning her eyes back to where Ms. Appleby was writing on the board. He chuckled lowly, curling a long finger around a loose strand of her hair.

"Stop it," she whispered, brushing his hand away.

He grasped her wrist, rubbing his thumb along the skin. "We both know you don't want me to," he said softly.

Kim's face scrunched up in anger, but when her eyes connected with his, he could see the fight leave her.

The intense way he was staring at her seemingly left her speechless.

Tommy caught sight of Trini on the other side of the room behind Kimberly. The yellow ranger was watching the pair with a disapproving frown. Kim followed his gaze, pulling her wrist from him quickly when she saw Trini looking in their direction. Tommy scowled, moving so that he was out of her personal space. He sat back in his chair, yanking his hood lower over his head. Things were just about to get interesting with the little pink ranger; naturally, one of her teammates had to ruin his fun.

He refocused on Ms. Appleby at the front of the class, her words sounding garbled to his ears. He hated how Rita insisted he attend school to "blend in." He wasn't particularly fond of school prior to being her green ranger; he didn't know why she thought he would be okay with going to school now.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and Tommy gathered his books, slipping them into his backpack before walking out of class. He opened his locker, switching out his history book for his large chemistry book and lab notebook.

He felt someone bump into him from behind and stiffened, turning to look at the person responsible for hitting him. He smirked when he saw it was Skull, Bulk standing only a few feet behind the lanky boy.

"Watch where you're going," said Tommy gruffly to the skinny teen.

"Or what?" asked Bulk.

Skull nodded. "Yeah…or _what_?"

Tommy slammed his locker closed, nearly tearing it off the hinges, eyes flashing green as he looked at them.

"I can assure you, you don't want to find out," he hissed.

The two boys stared in shock at the green ranger. Tommy quickly turned, heading down the hall to Mr. Raiford's class, a smirk playing on his lips.

He knew he was supposed to keep a low profile regarding his secret identity, but he couldn't help it. The urge to scare the shit out of Bulk and Skull was too much to resist.

He made his way to his lab bench, sliding on the stool next to Billy. The two decided to be lab partners back at the end of their junior year for chemistry in the fall, before Rita got a hold of Tommy.

"Can I infer from your pleased demeanor that you have done something of questionable nature that amuses you?" asked Billy, goggles already covering his eyes.

Tommy glanced at the blue ranger. "Something like that."

"Of course," Billy shook his head. "We cannot begin the experiment until you get your protective eyewear." He tapped his goggles.

Tommy reached for his at the head of their table, freezing suddenly as his eyes glazed over and filled with a green mist. After a few seconds, the mist disappeared and he blinked rapidly.

"I have to go," he said, grabbing his backpack off the floor.

Billy nodded. "I suppose I will see you this afternoon?"

Tommy said nothing, aware of what Billy was implying.

He walked away from the blue ranger, telling Mr. Raiford he needed to see the school nurse. Tommy stepped out into the hallway, checking for anyone nearby before he teleported out of AGHS.

Tommy rematerialized in the throne room of the Lunar Palace, confused when he saw no one there. He walked around, looking for any sign of Rita.

"It's about time you showed up," growled a low voice.

Tommy turned, amused eyes connecting with Goldar's incensed red ones in the dark room.

"Hi, Goldie," said Tommy cheekily.

The warrior snarled, stepping out of the shadows as he walked up to the green ranger. "What have I told you about calling me that _ridiculous_ name?" he hissed.

The green ranger laughed. "Aww, poor Goldie, did I make you mad?"

He patted Goldar's cheek, and the creature jerked away, hand gripping the handle of his sword. Tommy tensed, itching for a fight with the ugly creature.

"Ahhh, there you are! Come here, my green ranger," said a scratchy, high-pitched voice.

They both turned to look at their empress, Rita Repulsa.

Tommy turned back to Goldar, eyes flashing green. "I guess this will have to wait," he said sadly, winking at Goldar before turning to Rita.

The sorceress stood at her balcony, looking through her telescope. Tommy stood silently behind her, waiting for her to start talking.

"Tommy!" she screeched. He winced slightly at the tone.

'_There really is no need to yell. I'm right beside you,'_ he thought to himself.

"Yes, my empress?" he asked aloud.

She turned to him with a scowl, staff in hand. "Those pathetic power rangers of Zordon have stopped me for the last time."

'_I doubt that.'_

"Finster is making me a new monster, and I want you to take some putties down there and help out." She was circling him, black nails running across his torso. He forced his body to remain still, the urge to shudder nearly overpowering.

Tommy nodded. "Yes, my empress. And what is it that this new monster of Finster's can do?"

She cackled. "Oh, he's got something wonderful in store. I need you to weaken the rangers while he prepares it for me." She rubbed her hands in glee.

Tommy forced himself not to roll his eyes. _'You would think she'd learn by now not to trust anything Finster says or does.'_

"As you wish. I will prepare for battle."

He bowed to her before heading to his quarters, throwing his backpack on the ground once he was inside his room. The small chamber was dimly lit, a tiny bed in the far corner and a plain dresser next to it. The lone window in the room was high up on the wall, bars covering it.

His room was a prison.

Tommy took off his sweatshirt, tossing it onto his bed. He didn't want to have it on under the spandex suit; the discomfort would be unbearable. He walked over to the small mirror hanging over the dresser, looking at himself in the dim light.

He could still see the faint scars on his arms from when Rita captured him the first time. Tommy ran his finger along the thin white scar along his shoulder blade, watching as it disappeared beneath his white wifebeater to continue down to his navel. Lifting the thin t-shirt up, he touched the thicker scars along his narrow hips. Tommy looked in the mirror, growing angry at the healing marks across his body. A shaky hand rose to his face, fingers gently trailing from his hairline over his right eye down to the middle of his cheek. The scar was faint now, though the memory of how he received it wasn't.

_Tommy sat huddled in the corner of his small cell, body shivering from the cold. He had been stripped of his clothes, sitting in nothing but his black boxers in the dank, musty cell. His stomach contracted violently as hunger pains hit him strongly._

_His body was black and blue all over, evidence of the multiple beatings he received since his arrival. He wasn't sure how many days he spent in his prison; time had begun to blur together for him. Each day, they would bring him a gold coin, asking him to join forces with Rita Repulsa. Tommy had only been in Angel Grove for a little more than a year, but he knew enough to know that Rita Repulsa was bad news. Every day, he refused the offer, usually with a sarcastic retort. The result was usually a fist slammed into his handsome face, then his arms, his chest, his legs…_

_Tommy shuddered when he faintly saw the bright light appear in the doorway of his cell through eyes nearly swollen shut. Before, he would always try to run to it and find a way out, but his body was so sore from the abuse, he could barely keep his head up. He could hear the heavy footsteps and clinking of metal on metal, followed by heavy breathing._

_Goldar._

_The creature made his way to the beaten teen, crouching low so that he was eye-level. Tommy barely made out the gold coin in his hand._

"_Take it," growled Goldar._

_Tommy forced himself to sit upright, slightly winded from the effort. He cleared his throat._

"_No," he said, voice raspy from the lack of water. He spit in Goldar's face, chuckling to himself when he saw the beast grow angry._

_Goldar pulled a small dagger from a sheath in his boots, placing the tip at Tommy's throat. The teen stopped laughing immediately._

"_Not so funny now, is it?" asked Goldar, trailing the dagger from Tommy's neck to his right cheek. Tommy could feel the tip piercing his skin._

"_Take it." His unspoken threat rested heavily between them._

_Tommy swallowed thickly, heart beating rapidly against his chest. "Fuck you." _

_Outside of the prison cell, a loud cry of pain was heard down the corridor. Goldar walked out of Tommy's cell seconds later, dagger in hand as he headed back to Rita. _

_Inside, Tommy lay on the ground huddled over in a ball, hands covering the right side of his face as he moaned in pain, blood on his shaking fingers…_

A knock on the door startled the green ranger from his reverie. He turned, catching Goldar's irritated glance.

"Rita wants you down there _now_."

Tommy nodded, watching as the warrior left. He reached into his pocket, caressing the small coin that rested there.

'_Showtime.' _He morphed into his green ranger suit before teleporting out of the small chamber.

Tommy landed in Angel Grove Park, putties moving about him sporadically. About twenty feet away stood the power rangers, unmorphed. He glared behind his visor when he saw Jason order them to morph.

Tommy rolled his eyes as they went through their usual morphing sequence. _'Is all that bravado necessary?'_

"Attack," he commanded the putties. The clay creatures ran towards the teens, engaging them in battle.

Tommy charged at Jason, flipping in the air to slam his feet into the red ranger's chest. Jason stumbled back, raising his arms in a defensive stance.

"I don't want to fight you, Tommy," he insisted.

Tommy snarled, slamming his fist into Jason's face. "That's funny… because I've been _dying_ to fight you."

Tommy slammed his fist into Jason's stomach, causing the red ranger to bend over in pain. He then slammed his elbow into Jason's back, and the teen fell to his knees. Tommy smashed his knee into the face of Jason's helmet.

Tommy was tackled from behind, sending him straight to the ground. He rolled over, seeing the black ranger on top of him. He kicked Zack off, kipping up to his feet.

"You can't handle me, black ranger," he taunted.

Zack's fists clenched. "Someone has to since Jason won't."

They ran at each other, Tommy quickly gaining the upper hand as they fought.

"Zack!" Tommy heard in the distance. The other rangers were coming over to aid their friend, running at full speed.

Tommy laughed, shoving Zack directly into Billy's path for a painful collision, sending the two boys down. He dodged Trini's power daggers, grabbing her arm before flipping her onto her back, his fist connecting painfully into her sternum.

A kick to his back alerted him to Kimberly's presence, and he whirled around, grabbing her fist before the punch she sent his way could connect. He yanked her towards him, twirling her around so that her back pressed to his front, her own arm locked around her throat.

"And you say you don't want me?" he teased, slightly out of breath. She squirmed against him, stilling when his hand touched her hip.

"I like it when you play rough," he whispered in her ear.

She slammed her elbow into his chest, and he grunted from pain. Spinning, she kicked at him, surprised when he caught her foot. He punched her in the thigh before kicking the other leg out from under her, sending her to the ground. Tommy lay over her, and he could make out her brown eyes through her visor.

He reached for her face before he heard a loud screech, turning to see a large frog-like creature headed in their direction.

'_What the fuck?'_ he thought to himself.

The strange creature made its way over to them, wobbling unsteadily.

"Green ranger!" it yelled. "This is my battle now. Rita wants you back on the moon."

Tommy's jaw clenched, and he slowly moved off of the pink ranger. He surveyed the rangers around him, either laying on the ground or starting to get to their feet.

'_I could finish them now,'_ he thought to himself angrily.

He took another look at the monster, shaking his head. _'This battle will be over soon. This creature can barely walk straight, much less fight.'_

Tommy closed his eyes, teleporting away from Angel Grove and back to the Lunar Palace. When he landed in the throne room, he ripped off his helmet, heading in Rita's direction. Goldar watched Tommy from a few feet away.

"Why didn't you let me finish the rangers, empress?" asked Tommy, helmet clutched in his arms. "I had the perfect opportunity to finish them, and you pulled me out of the fight."

Rita watched him with a smile. "I wanted to see what my new monster could do."

Tommy growled, chucking his helmet to the ground in anger.

He was growing frustrated with Rita. He had been her green ranger for a few months, and every time he went to battle, she would call him back just as he was about to destroy the rangers. He could've gotten rid of them long ago.

'_She can't be this stupid,'_ he thought to himself.

"Do you doubt me, empress?" he asked suddenly.

She shot him a curious glance. "Not at all, green ranger. I know you are capable of great destruction."

He walked so that he stood in front of her. "Then why do you persist in taking me out of the fight? I am more than capable of getting rid of the rangers on my own. Isn't that what you want?"

"Yes, Rita, isn't that what you want?"

Tommy's face scrunched in confusion at the unfamiliar voice that entered the conversation. He could see Rita's face quickly lose its color, and he turned, wondering who could garner such a reaction from the witch.

Tommy found himself looking at a man who looked like his skin had been ripped from his body. He was well-built, body encased in what appeared to be a silver exoskeleton. His mouth was covered by a metallic grille, and his eyes were behind a large visor that glowed red. In his hand was a silver staff with a 'Z' at the end. Behind the man was an Asian woman wearing gold armor. Her eyes were black, and her stance hinted at the power she held.

"Master," said Goldar in the closest to a happy tone that Tommy had ever heard from the beast. Goldar bowed before walking over to the newcomer, and the two clasped forearms in a warrior greeting.

"It is good to see you," said the man, his voice somewhat raspy.

Tommy watched in curiosity as the man approached Rita, who flinched when he neared her.

"Rita," he hissed, anger dripping from his words as he marched over to her. "You have failed me for the last time. Scorpina and I are here to take over."

Rita's eyes looked panicked. "Lord Zedd, you must understand – "

He scoffed, body glowing red as he grew angrier. "No, _you_ must understand. I did your father a favor by taking you into my empire. You have _yet_ to destroy Zordon of Eltar, embarrassing not only yourself but me and the entire Dark Empire as well with your incompetence."

The teen watched on in fascination as Rita cowered in fear. He was glad that Rita was being called out on her stupidity. The woman was a wonderful sorceress, but she had to be one of the stupidest people Tommy had ever met. He was sure without Goldar - who he begrudgingly had to admit was quite brilliant - at her side Rita wouldn't be able to do anything.

But this new guy… he radiated an intelligence that instilled both fear and respect in Tommy. He spoke and carried himself with such sureness that it made Tommy feel intimidated. This new guy didn't have to screech or scream in order to be menacing. There was something chilling about the way his voice stayed calm, an unidentifiable accent peeking through every now and then.

Tommy found him both terrifying and intriguing.

The man turned to look at Tommy, who was sure until now that this Lord Zedd person wasn't aware of his presence.

"And why is there a power ranger in the Lunar Palace?" he asked nastily, pointing at Tommy.

The teen felt his heart race.

Rita smiled. "He's my ranger."

Zedd cocked to his side. "You have a power ranger on our side? How did _you_ manage that?"

The sorceress grinned. "I found the sixth power coin."

Tommy stood still as Lord Zedd approached him, walking around him slowly in a circle. "Continue."

Tommy felt like he was on display, and he subconsciously straightened his posture.

"I used one of my spells to power the coin, and after searching, I found a suitable green ranger."

Zedd stopped so that he was looking into Tommy's eyes. "I see Goldar got to you."

Tommy went rigid, knowing Zedd was referring to the scar across his right eye.

Zedd glanced in Rita's direction. "Why this one?"

"He is the only one who can defeat the red ranger that Zordon selected. On skill alone, they are equally matched," supplied Goldar.

"And," said Rita excitedly, running over to stand next to Lord Zedd and Tommy, "he was once a friend of theirs, very close."

Zedd turned to look at her. "They have emotional attachments to him?"

She nodded. "Yes. It has worked in our favor in battle. The red ranger does not wish to hurt him, so they hold back."

Zedd nodded. "This is good - _surprisingly_ good - coming from you, Rita. And yet I'm not surprised at your inability to seize such a wondrous opportunity."

He stared at Tommy as he commanded the others. "Leave us."

Rita opened her mouth to protest, and Zedd turned to her with a menacing glare.

"Now."

She shut her mouth, leaving the room quickly with Goldar and Scorpina following.

"Scorpina," called Zedd.

Tommy watched the female warrior walk back towards them. "Master?" Her voice was both soft and strong to his ears, a seemingly fitting combination for the silent woman.

"Dispose of her. Immediately."

The green ranger's eyes widened. _'Dispose? Oh, God…'_

Scorpina nodded as she gripped the hilt of her sword, walking out of the room in the direction Rita went.

'_He's going to get rid of her just like that? No warning or anything?'_ the teen thought uneasily. _'Who the hell is this guy?'_

He watched Lord Zedd sit at Rita's throne lazily, staff in hand. Tommy could feel the sweat gathering on his palms as Zedd simply stared at him.

"Come here, green ranger."

Tommy hesitated before walking towards the man, standing a few feet away.

"What is your name?"asked Zedd.

"Thomas James Oliver, but I am referred to as Tommy."

Zedd nodded. "What is your relationship with the power rangers, Tommy?"

"They are my enemy," he said automatically.

Zedd laughed, shaking his head. "That isn't what I meant."

Tommy sighed. "Before my empress found me, I was a… friend of the rangers. I was best friend to their red ranger, Jason Scott."

"Is that why he isn't dead?"

Tommy stayed quiet for some time, and he felt his heart jump to his throat. "I do not understand your question."

"Yes, you do. Do not insult my intelligence." Zedd stood, looking down into Tommy's face. "I can see it in your eyes, green ranger. Rita's spell has worn off… or at least weakened."

Tommy felt himself panic and tried not to show it. When Jason and the others destroyed the Sword of Darkness, the spell had lost most of its effect, but he was the only one that should have known that.

'_He's bluffing.'_

"I believe you are mistaken. I serve only my empress."

Zedd shook his head. "I did not say you do not serve Rita or our mission, only that the spell has weakened." He stood close to Tommy. "You can feel…can't you?"

Tommy said nothing.

Zedd sat back down. "Normally, this would be the part where I would have you _disposed of_, but this works to my advantage." He laughed, and Tommy nearly collapsed from the intense wave of relief that hit him.

"I'm curious…even though you can think for yourself, you have remained with Rita. Why is that?"

Tommy's jaw clenched. "I despise the power rangers."

Zedd leaned forward. "They were once your friends, and your initial behavior could be excused by the spell, but you stay of your own free will. What did they do to you, green ranger?"

"I was betrayed," was his only response.

"Ah," said Zedd. "Betrayal is a strong motivator. And you fight against them to get revenge?"

"Something like that."

Zedd nodded, getting up and heading to the balcony. Tommy followed behind when Zedd inclined his head, and the two stood on the balcony looking over the Earth. The older man's calm demeanor was making the teen nervous.

"I am taking control of the Lunar Palace," said Zedd after a long silence. "The incompetence here must come to an end. Rita will no longer be your empress; I will be your new master."

The teen nodded, recognizing that he really didn't have a choice in the matter. A part of him was slightly scared of what it would mean to work for Zedd, but a larger part of him was excited at the prospect of working for someone as powerful as the man beside him.

He turned to look at Tommy. "You have already admitted you have no loyalty to Rita, only to your cause. Luckily, we have the same cause – destroying the power rangers, whatever the reason."

Zedd gripped the balcony rail with his hands. "I need something from you, Tommy."

"I'm listening," said Tommy.

"I will not ask for your loyalty, because you will not give it. But I do have a proposition for you."

Tommy nodded. "What is this proposition?"

Zedd turned fully to look at the teen. "My power far exceeds Rita's. She is a powerful sorceress, but the spells she knows are limited in their effectiveness, as you can tell. The full powers behind the sixth power coin have not been unlocked because she can't do it."

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "What don't I know about?"

"The Dragonzord, for starters." Zedd laughed when Tommy's eyes widened. "I can provide you with more power, more strength than you could possibly imagine, Tommy."

"And what would I have to give in return?" asked Tommy.

"You must serve me; regardless, you will be exacting revenge on the rangers, but you will be fighting in the name of the Dark Empire."

Tommy considered this. He wasn't power hungry enough to care who he was fighting for, just as long as he was able to do the fighting.

"I can handle that," he said after some thinking. "How would you make me stronger?"

"Give me your power coin," said Zedd. Tommy pulled the gold coin out of his pocket, placing it in Zedd's outstretched hand.

Grabbing his staff, Lord Zedd uttered words in a language Tommy could not understand, and white energy shot out of the staff into the coin. Tommy watched the coin glow red from the intense heat before it began emitting a soft green glow.

Tommy reached for the coin, only for Zedd to pull it away before he could touch it.

'_Should've known there was a catch,'_ he thought wryly.

"There is one more condition, green ranger."

Tommy's eyes were fixed on the coin. "Name it."

"If you are to serve me as my green ranger, I will need you to _destroy_ the rangers. Unlike Rita, I follow through with my threats. You were never faced with the chance to really go after the rangers because she would pull you out of the fight early, like today. I won't do that. I expect you to finish the job."

He played with the small coin. "Your unfortunate ability to think for yourself may become a nuisance, and you may find the need to… _protect_ your former friends."

Tommy scowled. "It will not be an issue. I want them gone."

"Then why are they still alive? You said it yourself, you had the opportunity to destroy them, and yet you use Rita as an excuse for why you haven't. If you truly wanted them gone, they would be," said Lord Zedd coldly.

Tommy had no response. Although it was true that Rita constantly pulled him out of battle, she never put him in a position to actually go through with killing the rangers. Tommy knew there was a difference between killing and wanting to kill; so far, he had only experienced the latter. He knew Zedd was right on some level, but he wasn't about to admit that to him.

"I will not tolerate such behavior if you are to serve me," hissed Lord Zedd.

"Then what do you propose?" Tommy asked.

"To be my green ranger, you must have no reservations. No inhibitions about killing… former friends or otherwise." Zedd held up the coin. "In exchange for me giving you this coin, you must give up the very thing that makes you human. If you take this coin, that part of yourself will be ripped away."

"And if I choose not to accept?" he asked, not liking the sound of the agreement anymore.

"The green ranger will meet an untimely demise."

'_Shit. Kinda walked right into that one, didn't you, Oliver?'_

"Don't think about what you would be losing, Tommy, but instead what you would gain. Think of what you would be able to accomplish if you freed yourself. You would be unstoppable as the green ranger. You would be able to get _everything_ you want, Tommy. Think about it."

Tommy stared hard at the coin. He was angry for what the rangers did, for what _Jason_ did, but to give up his morality… that was a different thing altogether. Tommy never considered himself that nice of a person to begin with, but was getting even actually worth his soul?

"Your decision, Tommy. Serve me and get back at Zordon's power rangers for what they did to you… for their betrayal… or die."

'_Well, when you put it like that…'_ Tommy thought sarcastically.

He knew there was no way Zedd would keep him around if he didn't accept the coin – Tommy posed a threat, and though he only just met Lord Zedd, he could tell the man didn't like being challenged.

"Would I still be in control of myself?" asked the teen softly.

Tommy hated not being in control; he _needed_ to be in control.

Zedd nodded. "Your thoughts will be your own, and you will be aware of certain feelings and memories. But you will not be able to feel remorse."

Tommy stared at the small gold coin for a long time before grabbing it hesitantly, and he could feel the energy surge through him. His body suddenly doubled over in pain, and Tommy grabbed the sides of his head as it felt like something was crawling beneath his skull, scraping harshly across his brain. Green energy engulfed his body, and he began to sweat profusely.

His shuddering stopped after a few seconds, and Tommy rose to his feet slowly, straightening his body to stand upright. He felt stronger and more alert, and he clenched his fists in anticipation, green energy swirling around his white gloves.

"Hello, my green ranger," said Lord Zedd darkly.

Tommy grinned, eyes flashing green. "I am ready, master."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note**: Here's the next chapter for you all. As usual, please read and review; all feedback is appreciated. The beginning of this chapter is a continuation of the last chapter (just to clear up any confusion). And just a reminder: this fic is entirely from Tommy's perspective. No insight into anyone's else's thoughts or feelings besides Tommy._

_That being said, here's chapter 2. Hope y'all like it!_

* * *

**Oliver Residence**

**Front Porch**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**6:11 PM**

Tommy walked through the front door of his house, kicking it closed with his foot. The door slammed loudly from the force of his kick, and he winced slightly at the sound.

"Tommy, is that you?" asked a female voice.

"Yeah, mom. It's me."

Sandra Oliver walked out of the kitchen, navy apron tied around her slim waist. The Native American woman's eyes twinkled when she caught sight of her son, and she grabbed his face gently in her hands.

"You get more handsome every day," she said with a smile.

Tommy grinned. "I do, don't I?"

She smacked him lightly on the chest, heading back into the kitchen.

"What are you cooking?" he asked, walking behind her. She turned, poking him in the stomach.

"No, out of the kitchen. You know the rules."

Tommy frowned, reaching over her to grab the foil covering a container. He felt a sting on his hand from her slap, and he looked sharply at her.

"I said no."

Tommy could feel his irritation at being denied what he wanted growing in him, but it ebbed when he saw her smile.

"All right, you can take a _quick_ peek… but don't tell your father."

He lifted the aluminum foil, mouth watering at the sight of roast beef.

"The food is done now. Go put your stuff down and get ready for dinner."

Tommy headed to his room, opening the door of the basement and going down the stairs. He threw his backpack into a far corner, heading to his bathroom. He washed his hands, drying them off before running out of the bathroom and upstairs.

He smiled when he entered the dining room, his plate already made for him. Tommy quickly sat down, grabbing his utensils as he prepared to eat.

"Tommy!" snapped his mom.

He threw her an irritated glance. "What?"

"You know we don't eat until your father is home," she reminded.

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "We _what?_"

She grabbed his fork and knife from him, placing them on the table. "Wait five minutes. Your dad's almost here."

Tommy smiled tightly, forcing himself to keep from rolling his eyes. He could hear his father's BMW pull into the driveway, car door slamming as he made his way to the porch.

Frank Oliver closed his eyes once he was inside the kitchen, a pleased smile on his face as he inhaled the different smells in the air. "Smells delicious, Sandy."

"Bet it tastes even better, but we wouldn't know that yet," mumbled Tommy.

His mother shot him a quick look before turning to her husband. "Dinner's all done, Frank. Put your stuff down so you can eat."

Tommy heard his father's footsteps fade away, and Sandra glared at him.

"Sorry," he muttered, not feeling apologetic at all.

The silence in the room was heavy until Frank returned, sliding into his chair at the head of the table. Sandra sat beside him, and they all began to eat.

"So how was your day?" she asked.

Frank smiled. "Another busy day at the office. I hate to say it, but moving to Angel Grove was the best thing for the firm financially."

Tommy paused as he cut his roast. "What do you mean?"

His father took a sip of water. "The people of Angel Grove have been troubled by aliens and monsters and God knows what else for years. And even with the power rangers there to save them, the damage caused by their battles is quite extensive."

"Those poor people," she said sadly.

Tommy looked up from his plate when his father laughed. "I guess, but you're missing the point, dear."

Tommy's eyes trailed from his father to his mother as he reached for his glass of water.

"I am?" she asked. "I didn't think anything was more important than the lives of those people."

"_You_ would think that, but that's because you're not a businessman. You can't see the money staring you right in the face like I can. Angel Grove is a gold mine!"

The green ranger's jaw clenched at the condescending way his father spoke to his mother, and he could feel the glass straining underneath his hand. Both his parents missed the flash of green in his eyes.

'_Arrogant piece of shit.'_ He was always a little bothered with how his dad talked to his mother; now it was really getting under his skin.

Frank took a few bites of his macaroni and cheese. "Nothing better for a firm that sells real estate insurance. We're really making money out here.

"And now that this new - uh… what is it? This evil green ranger - is here in town? Well, the citizens have lost their faith in the power rangers. If their own would turn on them, who can really protect them?"

Frank finished his water. "They turn to us for help."

Tommy took a bite of his bread roll in order to hide the smirk on his face. "That's really interesting, dad."

Sandra grabbed Frank's glass. "I'll get you some more water."

"Thanks… oh, and I could use a few more ice cubes as well," said Frank with a smile.

Tommy shot his mom a look. "He can get it himself."

His parents froze at his words; the coldness with which he said it heightened the tension in the room.

Frank shook his head after some time, clearing his throat. "You know what, honey? He's absolutely right. I can get my own water. Excuse me."

Tommy watched his father get up, heading into the kitchen. Sandra threw down her napkin.

"Thomas, what the hell is wrong with you?" she snapped.

He shrugged. "Nothing, I was merely making an observation. No need to be upset, mom. Dad wasn't."

Sandra frowned. "Your father was being nice, letting your attitude slide. But I'm not him. Explain."

"Nothing to explain. Pass the peas, please," he said, effectively dismissing her.

Frank made his way back to the dining room, eyebrows high on his forehead. "You don't speak to your mother like that, Tommy," he said sternly. "Show her respect."

"I only mimic what I see. You disrespect her all the time. What am I supposed to think?" the teen asked harshly.

The green ranger looked into his parents' startled eyes; the urge to laugh was strong. Instead, Tommy sighed, schooling his face into a tired expression. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a bit cranky from my day at school. I wasn't trying to upset either of you."

He turned to his mother. "It just doesn't make sense to me that you bend over backwards for dad. The last time I checked, he had two arms and legs that were working just fine, like the rest of us."

He focused back on his roast, cutting a piece before putting it in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

"Tommy…" started Sandra, astounded by her son.

Frank remained silent, and Tommy could tell from his expression the older man was pissed.

"Now," said the teen with a wide smile. "Pass the peas."

* * *

**Oliver Residence**

**Tommy's Room**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**Wednesday, 2:06 AM**

Tommy rolled over onto his back, eyes moving beneath his eyelids as he dreamed.

…_Tommy gripped the bars of his cell angrily, jaws clenched tightly as he listened to Goldar cackle._

"_You're crazy if you expect me to believe any of the bullshit coming out of your mouth," hissed Tommy. "You're lying."_

"_Oh, really?" laughed Goldar, walking to stand before the teen. "And you're so sure of this, boy?"_

_Tommy sneered. "I'm positive. They wouldn't do that to me. Jason wouldn't do that. He's my best friend."_

_Goldar grinned, grabbing the teen's hair in his claws roughly, causing Tommy to wince when he tried to pull away._

"_Then why are you still here?"_

_Tommy swallowed the lump in his throat, doubt creeping into his heart as he realized he couldn't answer Goldar's question._

_His world went black when the warrior yanked him forward, slamming his skull into the metal bars…_

A rough shake pulled the teen from his dream.

"Get up."

Tommy blinked away the sleepiness from his eyes, yawning as he stared blearily at Goldar.

"This better be _real_ important, Goldie," he snarled, eyes glancing at the alarm clock.

2:06 AM glared back at him in bright red, and he groaned, turning over and closing his eyes.

"Unless you want a matching scar over your left eye, I suggest you call me by my name, boy," growled the warrior.

Tommy's eyes snapped open at the threat, and he rolled out of bed, climbing to his feet.

"What do you want, _Goldie_?" he hissed, faces only inches away from Goldar's.

Tommy could tell from the look on Goldar's face that the creature was thinking of all the different ways he could kill the green ranger. But Tommy also knew that with Zedd as his ally, he was Zedd's golden boy.

He was untouchable.

"This is yours," said Goldar. Tommy looked down at the metal object in the warrior's claws.

The green ranger grabbed the small dagger, unable to understand the scripture on it. Tommy twirled it around in his hand, testing its weight.

"What the hell is this? The new powers come with accessories, too?"

Goldar breathed deeply, as if calming himself. "It's your Dragon dagger."

Tommy snorted. _'Whoever comes up with these names needs to be shot.'_

"And what, pray tell, does this shiny new toy do?"

"It calls upon the Dragonzord, the zord belonging to the sixth power coin," Goldar informed him.

Tommy turned the weapon over, looking for any buttons on it. He saw a small hole on the side and four along its blade, quickly realizing the Dragon dagger was also a flute.

"So what do I do? Just blow in this hole?" he asked.

Goldar gave him an annoyed look. "Does that make sense, you idiot? You'll be wearing a helmet, how can you blow air if your mouth is covered?"

Tommy glared. "Then how the _hell_ does this work? And who the hell thought it was okay to make this a flute? Why couldn't it be a trumpet or drums or something? That's slightly more respectable," he whispered viciously, not wanting to wake up his parents.

Goldar angrily snatched the weapon from the teen. "You hold it to your mouth like a flute, but you channel your energy through it from your mouth. Only the energy of the green power coin will work with the Dragon dagger."

He handed the dagger back to Tommy. "You need it to control the Dragonzord. The Dragonzord reacts differently depending on the order of the notes."

"Where is this Dragonzord? I want to test it out." He always envied the power rangers for having zords, and he had been itching to get his hands on the elusive Dragonzord ever since he heard about it.

"It's in the Pacific Ocean, buried beneath the ocean floor. You won't be using it that often," said Goldar.

Tommy gaped. "Oh come _on_, Goldie! You can't throw it out there just to tell me I can't use it!"

Goldar's eyes flashed. "You will use it eventually, but at the moment, you will have little need for it. The element of surprise is lost if it you use it too often."

Tommy nodded, although he wasn't sure exactly what Goldar was talking about.

"Fine," he said, slightly put-out. "So is there, like, an instruction manual or something for my zord that I won't be using? There's at least 200 combinations I can play with four notes."

Goldar shook his head. "Lord Zedd said only to tell you that once you charge the dagger, it will all come to you."

'_Of course it will,'_ Tommy thought cynically.

"I must leave," said Goldar. "Lord Zedd wishes to see me. An attack will take place tomorrow. Be ready when our master calls."

The long-haired teen watched the gold plated warrior disappear.

"Dragonzord," mumbled Tommy aloud, walking over to his backpack to place the black and green dagger inside. He had no idea what the hell Zedd was planning, but he was ready for whatever the villain had in store.

He yawned suddenly, scratching his stomach before crawling back into bed.

Tomorrow would be a good day.

* * *

**Angel Grove High School**

**Hallway, Outside of Tommy's Locker**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**1:44 PM**

"…_Mr. International, playa with the passport. Just like Aladdin bitch, get you anything you ask for. It's either him or me…"_

Tommy bopped his head up and down as 2Pac's "How Do U Want It" blasted loudly in his ears through his large headphones.

"Tommy," said a soft voice to his right. He couldn't see the young woman next to him; his hood covered the sides of his face.

"…_but I've been driven by attraction in a strong way. Your body is bangin', baby, I love the way ya flaunt it. Time to give it to daddy, nigga, now tell me how you want it…"_

Tommy pulled his English book out of his locker, followed by his math textbook. He flipped through the pages, checking to see if he could find the homework assignment he most likely shoved between the pages.

"Tommy," the girl tried again, though it became apparent that the boy in the green and white plaid jacket couldn't hear a single word she said.

"…_it's like erotic. Ironic cause I'm somewhat psychotic. I'm hittin' switches on bitches like I've been fixed with hydraulics. Up and down like a rollercoaster…"_

"Tommy!" she yelled, shaking his arm roughly.

The long-haired teen stilled, snatching his hood off his head and turning to his right. He inwardly groaned at the sight of the blonde.

"Hey, Katrina," he said, pressing pause on his CD player before pulling off his headphones, hanging them around his neck.

"Katherine," she corrected. "You haven't returned any of my calls."

He sighed. "Yeah, look. A lot's been going on right now, and I haven't been able to get back to you."

Katherine was the last girl in a line of many girls that Tommy had been with. She was very attractive – blonde, blue eyes, busty… her legs were killer and the Australian accent was to die for. Tommy was supposed to call her for a date the night before, but he got sidetracked.

"So, can we talk now?"

He rolled his eyes. "No."

"Why not?"

"I'm busy," he mumbled, searching through his locker for his homework assignment.

"But Tommy, you told me –"

He snarled. "Has it _ever_ occurred to you that I just _might_ have other things on my mind? Things that _actually_ matter to me? News flash, Karen, you are not the center of everyone's universe."

He gave her a nasty look. "Certainly not mine."

The blonde girl blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. "Fine," she said, head held high. "And it's _Katherine_, you jackass."

Tommy laughed. "So I'm a jackass because you're easy? How convenient."

He snorted at her shocked look. "It was just sex, _Katherine_. Stop trying to make more out of it than there was." He pulled out his homework assignment from the far corner of his locker, straightening it with his large hands.

"Are we done here?" he asked when he saw she hadn't moved.

Tommy put his assignment in his backpack, ignoring the girl beside him.

'_Stand there if you want,_' he thought. _'I'm outta here.'_

Tommy froze when he heard familiar voices in the distance, and he turned to see Jason and Kimberly standing by her locker.

"I'm really sorry I can't make it to your competition, Kim," he heard Jason say.

Kim wore a sad smile. "I understand, Jase. You made plans with your folks awhile ago. It's totally cool."

Tommy could tell from the pink ranger's tone that even though she meant those words, she still wanted Jason to come see her perform.

"I'm sure you'll be great," said the red ranger with a smile. He pulled Kim's hand to his lips.

Tommy rolled his eyes. _'Please don't make me gag.'_

"Are we still on for tonight?" asked Jason.

Kim nodded. "Yup. I'll meet you at the movie theater at 9."

He raised an eyebrow. "Meet me?"

"Yeah, I have to run a few errands beforehand. It's no big," she said.

"How about I drive you myself? Just wait for me after you practice for gymnastics and we can go where you need to," he suggested.

"Jason, I can drive myself just fine," she said somewhat irritably.

Jason was always worried about Kim when she drove; since the minor car accident she was involved in the year before, he was always on alert when she planned to go for a ride.

"I know," he insisted. "But I'm trying to be a gentleman, and if you drive yourself, you'd be ruining it."

Kim sighed, clearly knowing he was lying but his intentions were good. "Okay. That sounds fine."

Jason grinned. "Cool." He looked at his watch. "Shit, okay, I have to run. See you later, babe." He kissed her on the lips before heading off.

Tommy watched the red ranger run down the hall, waiting until he turned the corner to make his move. The green ranger slammed his locker closed, walking down the hall towards his calculus class.

The sound visibly jarred Kimberly, and she groaned when she saw him approaching with a smirk.

"What is it now, Tommy?" she asked, noticing him shaking his head.

"Just wondering when you went stupid," he said.

She looked at him confused. "What?"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Never took you as the type to let a man control you, Kimberly." He gave a mocking smile. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen."

Kim rolled her eyes. "Do you always talk about things you don't understand?"

"You always change the subject?" he challenged.

Kim stared at him. "Jason's not controlling me," she said softly. "He's just concerned and trying to be nice. You should try it sometime… and why do you even care?"

"I don't," he said before shrugging. "That's your choice to deal with that idiot, pink ranger."

She scowled. "Jason's not stupid."

Tommy laughed. "You know he is. I'm curious… how many more red muscle shirts will he have to buy before the rest of the world figures out he's the red ranger?"

Tommy often wondered how he hadn't figured out that Jason was the red ranger with how much red the boy wore. At least the others decided to wear colors outside of their ranger color every now and then. The green ranger was almost embarrassed to admit it wasn't until he was kidnapped that he knew his friends of one year were the power rangers, what with their frequent disappearing acts and seeming obsession with one color.

Kim's lips twitched before she snorted softly, unable to keep in her laughter at his comment. Tommy paid attention to the flush in her cheeks and the way her eyes shined as she laughed.

She looked absolutely beautiful.

Kim's laughter died as he kept staring at her, but unlike the other times, he didn't look away when her eyes caught his. Tommy's eyes were trailing over her petite frame slowly, as if memorizing the contours of her body through her clothes.

Kim wore a green blouse and short denim shorts. The shirt was low cut, showing off a respectable amount of cleavage, and Tommy's eyes were fixated on the swell of her breasts. The shirt was sleeveless, her tanned arms out for him to see. His eyes focused first on her muscular legs, up her toned thighs, around to her curvaceous ass that was encased in her snug shorts.

Every time they were alone, he could feel the part of him that was still good, still the old Tommy, threatening to come out and take over. They would be able to talk like they used to, bantering back and forth… and then it would change drastically. Something would flip inside of him - like a switch - and he was once again the green ranger.

Tommy had always been acutely aware of how attractive Kimberly was and had developed strong feelings for his former friend his first year at AGHS. Even now, he could still feel the telltale signs of desire for the gymnast. He figured that his attraction to her couldn't be erased by Zedd or Rita, but it seemed that since being the evil green ranger, the urge to act on that attraction had increased significantly.

"Stop," she hissed lowly.

"You're wearing my color," he said huskily, eyes drinking in the sight of her.

Kim ran a hand through her hair, becoming visibly agitated when he wouldn't stop looking at her. The hallways were empty save for the two of them.

"I'm just… going to go," she said lowly.

He grabbed onto her arm as she tried to pass, turning her and pressing her body back against the lockers. She looked up at him in shock, his tall frame casting a shadow over hers.

"Tommy, what – "

"Shut up."

She gasped, surprised when his lean frame pressed against hers, hands resting on her arms. She raised her hands against his chest, but she didn't push him away. His thumbs rubbed soft circles into her skin, and she looked up at him in confusion.

The sharp sound of the bell ringing caused Tommy to blink, and a brief look of irritation came across his face. Kim sighed in relief.

She firmly pushed against his chest, causing him to back up. "I have to go," she said softly.

Tommy only smirked, watching her walk down the hall before heading to his calculus class.

'_She's still trying to fight what's between us,'_ he thought as he opened the door to the classroom.

Tommy took his normal seat in the far corner of the room, sliding into his chair as he mentally replayed what happened. He wasn't sure what made him grab her like that; he just knew he didn't want her to leave.

He rubbed his chest softly, remembering the feel of her small hands on him and her firm body against his.

And suddenly, his thoughts wandered to what she would feel like pressed against him with a lot less clothing… on his bed.

Seeing Kimberly always struck something primal inside of the green ranger. He didn't know if it was because it was so easy to get under her skin… her fiery attitude… that delicious body…

Tommy could feel his cock stir in his jeans.

No matter how much the pink ranger tried to deny it, Tommy knew she wanted him. The two of them had a slow heat building between them long before he was kidnapped.

_Tommy sat back in his white F-150 with his eyes closed. Kimberly had had a gymnastics meet over in Stone Canyon, and he offered to pick her up when Jason couldn't since her car was in the shop from the accident. The two were waiting for Jason to meet them at the park now that he was back in town. He had gone with his father on a business trip to Switzerland for a week, giving Tommy and Kim plenty of time to be alone._

_A tap on his shoulder jolted Tommy, and he glared when he saw Kim's seemingly innocent face smiling at him._

"_Cute," he said sarcastically. She stuck her tongue out in reply._

"_So should I just call you Ms. First Place from now on? This is number, what? Sixteen for you? Though I'm not surprised, you're the best at what you do."_

_She flushed at his words. "I wouldn't say I'm the best, but thank you, Tommy."_

_He reached over, grabbing her hand in his, linking their fingers together. "Just speakin' the truth."_

_She stared at their joined hands with a sad expression. "I can't wait to show Jason."_

_He rubbed her knuckles with his thumb, finger turning the small promise ring on her finger Jason bought her for her birthday. _

"_Yeah… Jason." _

_She tightened her grip on his hand. "Isn't it great he's coming back today?" she asked with little enthusiasm._

"_Yeah, I missed him," he said in a tone that indicated anything but happiness at his friend's return to Angel Grove. "I know you did."_

_She bit her lip. "Yeah."_

_He couldn't help but notice how sad she sounded._

_The two had grown closer since Jason left. With him away, they had easily slipped into a routine very similar to that of a couple. He would pick her and take her places, talk to her late at night on the phone for hours… The physical contact between them reached an intimate level as well – long hugs, hand holding; it was as if without Jason around, they were finally acting on the feelings they had tried to keep buried._

_Tommy stared at her for some time. "Jason asked me if I had feelings for you… before he left."_

_She didn't seem surprised at his confession. "He asked me the same."_

"_What did you tell him?" he asked._

"_I told him I saw you like a brother."_

_Tommy snorted. "And he believed that?"_

_She shrugged, not offering an answer. "What did you say?"_

_He traced the lines of her palm with his long fingers. _

"_I said yes."_

_Their eyes connected for several seconds, the air in the truck tense._

"_But I also told him I wouldn't pursue you. He's my friend, and I don't want to hurt him."_

Tommy scoffed as he thought back on his misguided loyalty to Jason. He and Kim never got the opportunity to fully explore what was growing between them. She continuously pulled away, always keeping Tommy at a distance to protect Jason's feelings.

_Kim nodded. "At least you didn't lie to him to him like I did," she said softly, staring down at their hands._

_Tommy shook his head. "I did lie."_

_Kim looked up at him confusedly, eyes closing when his lips descended upon hers. Their lips stayed together for some time before Kim's moved against his, deepening the kiss. Tommy raised a hand to her cheek, holding her head firmly as he put more strength in the kiss. They separated briefly in order to get some air, lips barely touching._

"_God," she whispered against his lips before grabbing his face, kissing him again._

_He felt her tongue snake into his mouth slowly, and he caressed hers with his own curiously, enjoying the taste that was uniquely Kim. Their kisses quickly grew from exploring to feverish, loud smacking noises ringing in the car as they kissed wildly._

_Tommy gasped when she pulled away, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath._

_He stared at her, eyes burning a hole into her flushed face. "Tell me you felt that."_

_She shook her head, looking away. "Doesn't matter."_

_He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "If you can honestly tell me you felt nothing in that kiss, I'll walk away." _

_He ran a thumb across her bruised lips, taking note of the shuddering breath she took._

"_Tell me," he whispered, eyes fixed on her mouth. "Or quit denying both of us what we want."_

_Kim opened her mouth, only to pull away from him as she looked passed him in fear. He turned, shocked to see Jason headed their way._

"_Kim," he started, but she quickly gathered her things, opening the door to his truck._

"_I have to go," she said softly, stepping out and shutting the door._

_He watched helplessly as she ran into Jason's open arms, kissing him quickly on the lips before he picked her up and spun around. Tommy watched as they smiled brightly at each other, and he felt his stomach drop when Jason waved at him._

_He forced a smile onto his face when he waved back, realizing that Kim had made her choice._

_And for a brief moment in time, Tommy knew what it felt like to die a little inside._

The pain of Kim's rejection was still fresh in the green ranger's mind. It hurt even worse to learn that Kim and Jason slept together that night, only a few hours after their kiss. He was no virgin, so it was easy to tell from their increased intimacy and the swagger in Jason's step the next day what happened between them. Jason couldn't wait to share with Tommy the news that he was no longer a virgin, expecting his 'bro' to be happy for him.

He wanted to beat Jason until he couldn't stand.

Kim couldn't even look him in the eye.

As immature as it was, his first reaction was to find the nearest warm body and forget about Kimberly. He found Lisa... Jennifer… Sarah… Michelle… Tanya… He couldn't remember all their names, only that they couldn't make him forget about _her_.

He felt like he had been played. Tommy had done everything right… other than the kiss. He never pressured Kimberly, never crossed the line with her, and always respected her relationship and his friendship with Jason.

And his reward was the proverbial kick in the nuts.

'_Fuck that,'_ thought Tommy angrily as he copied down the problems from the blackboard.

As far as he was concerned, the bullshit was over. He no longer had to play by the rules; the green ranger didn't follow anyone's rules.

He made his own.

A loud snap rang in the classroom, and all eyes turned to Tommy. Half of his pencil was in his hand, the other half was on his desk; he had broken it in anger.

"Are you all right, Mr. Oliver?" asked Mrs. McDonald.

Tommy looked up, smiling tightly. "I'm good. Guess I don't realize my own strength."

She nodded, although her concerned look remained.

He threw the broken pencil onto his desk, staring blankly at the board.

Jason was no longer his friend, not after what he did to him. Tommy wanted to cause Jason as much pain as he suffered, putting him in his own personal Hell.

* * *

**Angel Grove Park**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**3:22 PM**

Tommy landed in Angel Grove Park in his green ranger uniform as he watched the power rangers fight off the putties across the park.

He ran over to the teens in colorful spandex, charging them with his weapon. Tommy headed directly for Jason, tackling the red ranger to the ground. They rolled around, and Tommy repeatedly punched Jason in the front of his helmet once he gained the upper hand.

"Tommy! Tommy, stop!" yelled Jason.

Tommy only saw red as he viciously attacked the red ranger. He grew angry when he realized he was the only one fighting; Jason was only attempting to block the blows.

"Fight back, dammit!" he shouted. The green ranger's rage increased tenfold when the red ranger refused to do more than defend himself.

He felt arms wrap around his throat from behind and was momentarily startled. He grabbed his assailant's arms, flipping them over and onto their back.

The blue ranger landed with a thud, and Tommy ran over to him, hands around Billy's throat.

"Stay out of this. This is between me and him," he hissed. The blue ranger clawed at Tommy's wrists as he struggled to breathe.

"You aren't the one I want, Billy," said Tommy, and he lessened his grip on the blue ranger's throat slightly, allowing the younger boy to breathe.

"Leave him alone!" he heard Trini scream.

Tommy let Billy go, grinning behind his helmet when the yellow ranger charged him. He waited for the perfect moment, raising his knee to slam into her stomach, her momentum working against her. He grabbed her by her throat and flung her across the park. He looked back down at Billy, summoning his powers to deliver a powerful energy blast to the teen's chest, stunning him.

He didn't want to fight Billy or Trini. He had no issue with them besides their constant need to fight for Jason. He wanted them out of the way when he went after the red ranger.

The green ranger turned his attention back to the red ranger, not at all surprised to see the black and pink rangers hovering protectively.

Kimberly ran at him. "Tommy, no!"

He grabbed her wrist, shoving her out of the way. "Move," he growled. She only proved to be a distraction in battle, and he needed none of that.

Zack called on his power axe, swinging wildly at the green ranger. Tommy grabbed the axe mid-swing, yanking it and Zack forward before slamming the handle into the black ranger's face, breaking the visor. He launched a spinning kick to Zack's chest, sending the black ranger back several feet.

Tommy had to admit it felt good to fight the black ranger. Although the black ranger had done nothing personal to Tommy, his allegiance to Jason was sickening. Zack always fought aggressively against the green ranger, the only ranger to keep from holding back.

Tommy figured it might have something to do with the little fact that Zack hated him.

Tommy grabbed Jason by the front of his suit, ramming his knee into the younger teen's stomach. He delivered a hard uppercut to Jason's chin before wrapping his hands around his throat, lifting him into the air.

The green ranger laughed as he watched the red ranger struggle, and he could see the fear in Jason's eyes through his visor.

Small hands on his shoulder shook him, and he could hear Kimberly begging him to let Jason go. He shook her off of him, too consumed in what he was doing to stop.

"I'm going to enjoy watching you take your last breath, red ranger," he whispered.

Tommy let out a startled scream - dropping Jason to the ground - when he felt a searing pain in his leg. He grabbed at it and was surprised to see a pink arrowhead protruding from his thigh. Angrily, he turned to Kimberly, who stood with her power bow in hand.

"I told you to leave him alone," she said coldly.

He grimaced. "Choosing Jason again, huh? But I really shouldn't be surprised anymore."

Tommy grasped the arrow, breaking off its ends before gritting his teeth and pushing it through his leg. Closing his eyes, he concentrated his energy on his wound, and it slowly began to close. Tommy stood once it was fully healed, shaking out his leg before turning to face Kimberly. The sight of him healing himself left her in a state of shock and he kicked her hard in the stomach.

"Now _he's_ going to pay for that," he snarled down at her, grabbing his dagger.

He made his way to the fallen red ranger. Zack climbed to his feet, running at the green ranger only to freeze when he was suddenly suspended in the air, frightened brown eyes showing through his broken visor. Tommy's hand was outstretched towards Zack, green energy swirling around his glove. He spotted a nearby tree off to the left; he used his hand to slam the black ranger hard into it. Zack remained on the ground, unmoving.

Tommy crouched low over Jason, dagger tip hovering over the red ranger's throat.

"Tell Zordon that Lord Zedd has returned, and the Dark Empire is coming for Earth."

He slashed Jason across the chest, relishing in the teen's cries of pain.

"You have been warned."

* * *

**Oliver Residence**

**Living Room**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**10:10 PM**

"_The green ranger once again made an appearance today in Angel Grove Park, engaging the power rangers in battle…"_

Tommy smirked as he watched the evening news, bringing his glass of water to his lips.

"…_reports from onsite witnesses indicate the red and black rangers received extensive injuries…"_

"That's terrible. I wonder if they're okay," said his mother.

Tommy inwardly rolled his eyes. "I'm sure they're fine, mom."

"…_never has the green ranger, or should we say evil green ranger, attacked so viciously. We can only guess as to what he'll do next…_

"I hope the power rangers can stop him," said Sandra worriedly.

Tommy glanced at his mother. "I don't know… he seems pretty badass."

She shook her head. "The power rangers will come through. They always do… they did for you."

"Sure," he said before standing, stretching his long limbs. "I think I'm heading to bed. It was a really busy day for me, and I'm pretty tired. Tell Dad goodnight when he comes in."

Sandra nodded, smiling slightly when Tommy pressed a kiss against her cheek.

"Love you, Tommy," she said softly.

He nodded. "Back at ya."

Ever since his outburst as dinner the other night, things had been tense in the Oliver household. Tommy and his father shared only a few sentences in the last few days. His mother was a bit better, though she seemed hesitant to talk to him.

Tommy found it difficult to keep from laughing at their behavior sometimes.

He made his way to his room in the basement, rushing down the stairs to turn on the shower in his bathroom. He was telling the truth when he said he was exhausted. He was sore from the fight earlier that day, and needed to rest to regain his strength.

He pulled off his jeans, tossing them onto the floor before closing his bathroom door. Stripping off his wifebeater and jeans, Tommy entered the shower stall, letting out a soft sigh when the hot water hit his body.

He rubbed his face tiredly, closing his eyes as he remembered the fight. He hadn't intended on attacking the other rangers, only Jason. His vendetta was against Jason, but they gave in to the annoying need to protect each other, forcing him to hurt them.

'_If they only knew what a lying sack of shit he was… maybe then they wouldn't be so quick to defend him,'_ he thought as he grabbed the bar of soap.

…_Tommy looked up when he heard the clink of metal on metal. Goldar appeared outside his cell._

_The teen rushed to him, hands gripping the bars tightly. "You have what you wanted; now, let me go."_

_Goldar shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that, boy."_

_Tommy's left eye narrowed in anger; the right side of his face was covered with a white bandage._

"_You son of a bitch! You got what you wanted! I should've known you'd double-cross me," he hissed._

_The gold plated warrior snorted. "No one double-crossed you, pup… no one but your friend."_

"_What are you talking about?" he asked._

"_He didn't do it," said Goldar._

_The long-haired teen's left eye widened in shock, and he let go of the bars, pacing the small space in his cell._

"_You're lying," he said lowly. Tommy pointed at Goldar. "All of you are fucking liars, especially you, monkey man. I know he did it. He wouldn't leave me here. Let me out."_

"_Your faith in your friend is misplaced, I'm afraid. You won't be leaving here anytime soon."_

_Tommy's hands found their way to his hair."Shut up."_

"_It's a shame really," said Goldar. "We thought for sure he would have gone through with it. You're supposed to be his best friend."_

_Tommy rested against the wall, his head was throbbing. "I said shut up."_

_Goldar shook his head. "He said no, just like that." He snapped his fingers. "Guess you're not that important after all."_

"_I SAID SHUT UP!" screamed Tommy as he slid down the wall, hands pressed tightly over his ears._

_Goldar watched the teen rock slowly, mumbling to himself._

"_He wouldn't leave me… he wouldn't leave me… he wouldn't leave me…"_

_The creature slowly walked towards Tommy, standing so that the boy sat only a few feet away from him, separated only by the bars of the cell._

_The warrior crouched low, opening his hand and rolling a small gold coin towards the teen. _

_The sixth power coin._

"_When you're ready, it's yours," he said lowly. He stood back up, exiting the holding area to leave Tommy alone._

_The teen didn't even glance at the coin beside him…_

Tommy scrubbed harshly at his skin, washing away the filth from the day.

Jason would get what was coming to him soon enough.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note:** And here's chapter 3! Thanks for the reviews - they keep me motivated. I'm very glad to see you guys like the fic so far, and I'm sure this chapter won't disappoint._

_As always, please read and review. Hope y'all like it! :D_

* * *

**Angel Grove High School**

**Gym Class**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**Friday, 2: 01 PM**

"All right, class, since Coach Madison is out for the day, it's going to be a free period," said Coach Smith.

The announcement was met with cheers from the students.

"Settle down," she said. "Behave, everyone. I'll be in my office if anyone needs me."

Tommy rested against the bleachers, brown eyes focused on the group of girls in the center of the basketball court.

One girl in particular.

He watched Kim laugh at something Aisha Campbell said, playfully pushing the African American girl with her hand. She turned slightly, smile dropping when she caught Tommy's eyes on her, and her hand nervously ran through her hair. Tommy pushed himself up, standing before walking in her direction. He smirked when her eyes widened slightly.

He paused when he felt something hit his chest, eyes trailing down to the basketball that was now firmly planted in his sternum.

"Going somewhere?"

Tommy's eyes found Zack Taylor's. The black ranger had a cold look in his eyes, and the smile on his face was forced.

"Just headed over to the water fountain. I'm parched, and I know it'll quench my thirst," said Tommy lecherously.

Zack shoved him back, and Tommy grabbed onto the orange ball.

"Me and you. One on one. Now." Zack turned, heading to the nearest basket.

Tommy bounced the ball a few times, winking in Kim's direction before following behind Zack. Tommy dribbled the ball at his side.

"Sure you're up to this? Wouldn't want you to take another fall. Might not get back up next time."

Zack growled, attempting to knock the ball out of Tommy's hands. The green ranger smiled, bouncing the ball between Zack's legs before making a layup. He threw the ball at Zack hard, causing the teen to cough when it slammed into him.

"Your ball."

The two played intensely, sweat dripping from their muscular bodies. A crowd had gathered around them, entranced by the game. Zack was the star player on the basketball team, so all were surprised to see Tommy holding his own.

Tommy bounced the ball between his legs, seeing that class was almost over. He wiped the sweat from his brow, trying to figure out how to make the last shot of the game. He was down one point and tying wasn't an option.

He needed to win.

"Come on, Zack!" Zack's girlfriend, Angela Griffith, yelled from the sidelines.

Tommy grinned when he heard her, and Zack glared up at him.

"What's so damn funny?" asked Zack irritably.

"Just wondering if it bothered you," said Tommy.

"What?"

"That I fucked your girl."

Zack straightened up, eyes flashing in anger. Tommy used the distraction to rush past the black ranger, shooting the ball to make the winning two-point shot. The bell rang as the ball fell through the net, signaling the end of class and the school day. His victory was short-lived, however; Zack pounced on him, swinging wildly. The crowd erupted, shocked to see the normally cool, fun-loving Zack attack Tommy.

Tommy felt Zack's fist connect with his jaw twice before the shorter teen was pulled off of him. The green ranger could taste the blood in his mouth, and he spit, a small red blot landing on the basketball court. He laughed as he climbed to his feet, wiping his busted lip with the back of his hand.

"You're dead, Tommy! You hear me?" yelled Zack as several guys in the class held him back.

The green ranger spit again. "It was good, too… but you probably already know that."

Zack lunged forward, nearly knocking over the people in front of him.

Tommy watched as Adam Park and Rocky Desantos dragged Zack out the back door of the gym, attempting to get the teen out of the school before the faculty was alerted about the fight. He wiped his bottom lip again, grimacing at the sight of his own blood.

'_Got me good, bastard.'_

Hands shoved at his chest, causing him to stumble backwards. He looked down at the angry form of Kimberly Hart. Her nostrils were flared, face flushed in anger.

He thought she looked gorgeous.

"What the hell is _wrong_ with you? Antagonizing Zack like that?" she yelled.

Tommy scoffed. "I'm sorry, but I think _I'm_ the one with the bruised jaw and busted lip. Where the hell is my sympathy?"

She glared at him. "What did you say to him? You had to have said something bad to provoke Zack like that."

"How do you even know I provoked him? Why couldn't it be that I'm the innocent one and he's just fucking crazy?" he argued.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "_What_ did you say?"

He rolled his eyes. "Nothing he didn't know already, pink ranger." He rubbed his jaw. "Shit."

She scowled. "It's the least you deserve." Her gaze softened when she saw him wince.

"Dammit, stop," she said, grabbing his hand. "Quit touching it. You're only going to hurt yourself."

She inclined her head towards the bleachers. "Sit."

Tommy raised an eyebrow curiously before walking over, sitting down on the first row. Kim walked over to get her lunchbox, grabbing the icepack and bringing it over to him. She pressed it hard against his face.

Tommy hissed, eyes flashing green in anger. "Sorry," she said with a smirk, and he knew she wasn't sorry at all.

He sighed as the icepack cooled the burning ache in his face, and he looked up at her. She was focused on applying the right amount of pressure on the pack, not wanting to hurt him. She was standing between his legs, his eyes level with her navel. His hands flexed against his thighs, brushing slightly against the underside of her knees.

He ran a finger along the back of her right leg, trailing from the top of her calf to the bottom of her gym shorts. He heard her take a deep breath above, but her eyes never moved from the icepack. Tommy raised his other hand, covering her hand on the icepack with his own; the other hand was busy massaging the sensitive flesh of her leg. He could feel the muscle tremble from his caress.

"I think… I think you're good now," she said shakily. "Y-You can keep the icepack."

She let go of the pack, forcing him to hold it on his own. Kim turned around, and he grabbed her hand quickly. Her eyes looked at their connected fingers before she let his go.

"Bye, Tommy."

Tommy silently watched her grab her bag and lunchbox, following her with his eyes until she exited the gym. He didn't know why he touched her like that, so… intimately.

And more importantly, he wondered - for the second time - why she didn't stop him.

The urge to feel her skin against his was strong, and he didn't bother to resist it when she was standing so close to him. It was as soft as it looked, warm to the touch.

He needed to touch her again.

* * *

**Angel Grove Park**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**4:31 PM**

"It's morphin' time!"

Tommy snorted behind his visor as the five teens morphed into their uniforms. _'I bet Jason thought that one up all by himself.'_

On Tommy's right stood Goldar; behind them were a group of putties.

"You know what to do," growled Goldar. The green ranger nodded.

The plan was already in motion. He set his Dragonzord loose on the city of Angel Grove, blowing up several buildings and homes in the process. The teen had been ecstatic when he found out he would be able to use his zord for the fight, though he was a bit ticked that he had to use the flute to control the large machine. He wished he could control it by climbing inside and piloting it directly, but it wasn't designed to be handled that way.

Still, he got a kick out of trying out some combinations with his dagger. He figured out his zord could shoot missiles from its fingers and its tail could be used as a weapon.

'_The Dragonzord kicks ass. This is awesome and way better than any of their crappy zords.'_

Several homes in Angel Grove were flattened by his rampaging zord, and for a moment, he wondered if there were any people in those now demolished houses.

'_Hm… I guess I'll find out on the news tonight.'_

His Dragonzord had only been loose for about half an hour before the rangers came to save the day.

It was like clockwork.

"Let's go."

They charged the power rangers, and Tommy wasn't surprised to see Zack coming for him.

"Zack, lovely to see you," said Tommy as he and the black ranger circled each other.

"Shut up and fight!" yelled Zack.

Tommy grinned. "You're still mad about Angela, huh? If it makes you feel any better, someone else got to her first."

Zack launched a kick at the green ranger's head, which he ducked. Tommy laughed. "I was a little late."

The black ranger swung wildly, and Tommy skillfully dodged the blows. The black ranger's form was sloppy due to his anger.

Tommy jumped over Zack's head. "She's real flexible, too. You should ask her to do that thing where she rotates her hips." He let out a pleased sigh. "I almost died from how good it felt."

He could feel the anger coming from the black ranger in waves and smiled when Zack charged him. Tommy kicked him in the stomach, grabbing Zack's arm before gathering his energy, slamming his foot into the boy's leg and breaking the bone.

Tommy saw Jason turn at his friend's scream of pain, running over when he saw the green ranger standing over the fallen black ranger. Tommy's hands were wrapped around Zack's throat, and he was laughing as Zack started losing consciousness.

Tommy felt hands grab onto his shoulders roughly; he turned, receiving a hard punch to his chest. Falling backwards, he used the momentum to roll over and crouch low.

"You want me, Tommy? Then fight me. Leave Zack out of it," growled Jason. "Trini, take Zack back to the Command Center! Now!"

The yellow ranger flipped her way over to her fallen friend, and the two disappeared in a flash of light.

'_Now you have the balls to fight back and be there for a friend?'_ thought Tommy angrily as he unsheathed his dagger.

"With pleasure," he hissed, running full-speed at Jason.

Jason called on his power sword, swinging it at Tommy only for the green ranger to duck. Tommy threw down his dagger.

"I don't need a fucking weapon to destroy you," he snarled.

Jason stabbed at Tommy, and the green ranger sidestepped the attack, grabbing the sword. He pulled Jason forward, slamming his knee hard into the red ranger's stomach. Jason grunted, reaching up to wrap his arms around Tommy's neck. He turned the green ranger around, choking him.

"Stop it, Tommy! We can help you!" he pleaded.

The green ranger growled, ramming his elbow into Jason's stomach, forcing the larger boy back. He performed a spinning kick to the side of Jason's head, sending the red ranger to the ground. Tommy began to stomp his foot repeatedly into Jason's helmet, wishing the helmet was off so he could truly bash his skull in.

The red ranger groaned in pain as his head rattled against the hard ground. He most likely had a concussion from Tommy's stomping. Seeing he wasn't moving, Tommy grabbed Jason, one hand around his throat, the other on his chest as he lifted him into the air.

"Tommy," moaned Jason weakly. "Fight it."

Tommy sneered. "No thanks."

Tommy quickly dropped Jason onto his knee, laughing at the painful cracking sound he heard when the red ranger's back slammed into his thigh. Jason's cry of agony was like music to Tommy's soul, and he laughed maniacally.

"JASON!" he heard Kim scream from across the park. She and Billy had been too distracted to notice Jason was being attacked.

Tommy pushed the limp red ranger off of him, still able to hear Jason's soft groans of pain.

"You're coming with me," he said lowly, pulling Jason up by the back of his suit. Jason cried out as Tommy pulled him to his feet, and the green ranger wrapped his arm around the red ranger's neck.

Kim and Billy rushed to them, having defeated the putties.

"Stay back," yelled Tommy. His free hand pressed into Jason's back, and the red ranger howled in pain.

Billy held up his hands. "We will remain where we are. Please, release Jason."

Tommy laughed, digging his hand further into Jason's back.

"Can't do that, Billy. Jason has an invitation to the Lunar Palace. It would be rude for him to pass it up." Neither teen saw Goldar sneaking up behind them.

Tommy turned to Kim. "I'm sure you can make it without him for a few hours."

"Guys," rasped Jason. "Stop his zord. I'll be fine."

The two turned when they heard Goldar growl behind them, swords in hand, and they were forced to choose between defending themselves and saving Jason.

Tommy smirked, disappearing with Jason in a green flash of light while their attention was on Goldar. The two rematerialized in one of the holding cells of the Lunar Palace. Jason fell to his knees when they landed.

"No, no, no. You get up for this one," said Tommy. He wrapped an arm around Jason's waist, hoisting him up roughly.

The red ranger gave a yelp of pain. "My back…"

"I know, I know, it hurts," said Tommy in a mocking tone. "_Incredibly_ painful, I imagine."

Tommy rested Jason against the wall, grabbing first his right and then left arm as he placed them in manacles. He removed Jason's helmet and was finally able to see the pain clearly on Jason's face. The red ranger looked ready to pass out.

"Hey," he said, smacking the red ranger's face. "You need to be awake for this. You'll miss the good part."

Tommy threw Jason's helmet on the ground. The green ranger surveyed the room with a smile, eyes flashing green when he looked back at Jason.

"Know where we are?"

When Jason didn't respond, his slammed his fist into Jason's stomach. "Answer the question, red ranger."

"I don't know," said Jason tiredly, wheezing from the blow.

"I didn't expect you to." He walked close to the injured ranger. "This was my cell when Rita kidnapped me."

Jason's eyes filled with guilt at Tommy's words, eyes concentrated on the ground. The long-haired teen grabbed Jason by his hair, lifting his head.

"Don't you _dare_ look away from me," he snapped before punching Jason hard in the face.

Tommy ripped off his own helmet. "You left me in here!" he screamed in Jason's face.

Jason's jaw clenched.

"Do you have any idea what happened to me, Jason? What Goldar did to me?" Tommy pointed at the scar over his eye. "I was beaten. I was tortured. They tore me down, and it's because of you," he whispered coldly.

The red ranger looked up, eyes wet with unshed tears. "I'm so sorry, Tommy. "

Tommy grew angry at Jason's apology, fist connecting with the red ranger's face once again.

"You were my best friend, Jase. Why didn't you save me? Goldar said… he said you told them 'no.' Why?"

Tommy lifted Jason's head, taken aback when he saw fury swimming in his dark eyes.

"You _know_ why."

Tommy's eyes widened at the anger in his voice. "What are you–?"

A loud clang from behind caught their attention, and they turned to see Goldar standing in the doorway.

"Lord Zedd wishes to see you, green ranger. Now."

Tommy nodded, turning back to Jason. They glared at each other until Jason broke the stare, choosing to look away.

"Can't bear to look me in the eyes, can you?" asked Tommy. He saw Jason's jaw clench, nostrils flaring briefly.

"You made me, Jason. Get used to it."

Tommy scooped up his helmet off the ground, heading out of the cell. He stopped when he stood next to Goldar.

"Break him," he growled to the warrior, exiting the cell.

He didn't have to look at Goldar to see the sadistic smile on the creature's face at his request.

It was already burned into his mind.

* * *

**Lunar Palace**

**Throne Room**

**The Moon**

**Local Time, unknown**

"You have done an excellent job, green ranger. Without their leader, the power rangers are lost," said Lord Zedd.

Tommy stood before his master, helmet tucked under his arm. "I'm sure Goldar is having a wonderful time playing with the red ranger."

If Tommy had a conscience, he would feel a bit bad for Jason. He knew all too well the pain one experienced when _playing _with Goldar from his time as Rita's prisoner.

But Jason deserved every bit of it.

"When Goldar is done, you can have your chance to torment the red ranger. Until then, return to your quarters." Zedd placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. "I want you to rest now, conserve your strength. Phase two of the plan will begin soon."

Tommy nodded. "As you wish, master."

He turned, walking out of the throne room to his quarters. He purposefully took the long way to his room in order to pass by the prison cell where Jason was. He could hear the teen and Goldar yelling at each other, and Tommy smiled when he heard a sickening thud followed by Goldar's laugh.

'_Can't wait until it's my turn,'_ he thought nastily as he walked away from the cells.

Tommy paused when saw a small shadow on the wall outside his room that was steadily increasing in size as it drew near. He placed his helmet down on the ground quietly, grabbing his dagger as it neared. He was the only human at the Lunar Palace, so it was clear from the shadow's shape there was an intruder.

Tommy watched from the shadows with narrowed eyes as the figure finally came into view, and he smirked when he saw it was the pink power ranger. He kept still when she walked past him, slinking behind her silently.

Kim paused in her tracks, finally noticing the much larger shadow slightly covering hers on the ground. Tommy wrapped an arm around her shoulders, the other moving his Dragon dagger to the neck of her suit.

"Scream and it will be the last thing you do," he hissed.

She swallowed, nodding slightly. He turned her around, slamming her back against the wall. He wrapped a hand around her throat, though his grip remained loose. The green ranger used the tip of his dagger to undo the buckles of her helmet.

"Take it off," he ordered, motioning with his dagger.

Kim slowly raised her hands, grabbing the sides of her pink helmet. She lifted it off, chestnut hair spilling around her shoulders. She dropped it onto the floor.

"That's better," he said.

Kim held up her hands. "Look, I don't want to fight you. I'm just looking for Jason."

Tommy scowled, releasing her. "It's always about _Jason_, isn't it?"

She peered at him. "It's about him right now. You kidnapped him, Tommy, and who knows what you guys have been doing to him."

He rolled his eyes. "Jason is fine, Kimberly. He's a big boy… he's just playing with Goldar."

Her eyes widened; she shrugged off his grasp and rushed off down the hall. Tommy ran after her, grabbing her around the waist.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, shoving his dagger in its sheath before he carried her back.

She struggled. "Let go of me, dammit! Jason needs me and you're wasting my time."

He turned her in his arms, grabbing her flailing arms. "Goldar has him, Kimmie. He's good. Trust me."

Kim kicked him in his shin, and he grunted in pain, dropping her arms. She punched him hard in the face, forcing him to release her.

"You're a sick fuck, Tommy. Jason only tried to be a good friend to you. He cared about you, and this is how you repay him."

His eyes flashed green, grabbing her by her wrists and yanking her close to him, his face near hers.

"Your precious Jason is the reason I _am_ this way, pink ranger." He slammed her back into the wall.

She pushed at his chest. "What are you talking about?"

He shook his head, grabbing her gloved hands in his. "He didn't tell you, Kimmie? Guess Jason isn't the stand-up guy you thought he was."

Kim pulled her hands from his. "Jason isn't responsible for what happened to you. Lord Zedd and Rita are."

"Zedd and Rita saved me. They helped me see the truth," he told her. Tommy pushed against her, his right thigh sliding between hers firmly.

Kim's doe brown eyes looked down at where their bodies touched. "Get off of me," she hissed.

"No," he responded, hand wandering up to her hair. "And I don't really think you want me to."

Kim grabbed his wrist in her hand tightly, and her face showed her conflicted emotions. He trailed a finger down her hairline, and her body shuddered slightly.

Tommy grinned, face moving close to hers. "You want me."

Kim glared at him. "I hate you."

He laughed, moving his leg so that he ground his thigh between her legs. Her eyes fluttered briefly and she squirmed against the wall.

"I don't doubt that you hate me, pink ranger. I hate you, as well." His finger traced over her cheek, down her neck, between her breasts. She gasped when he brushed across a hardened nipple.

"But that doesn't change that you want me. You've always wanted me."

He pinched her lightly through her spandex suit, and he felt himself become aroused from the breathless moan she released.

"And you're not even trying to stop me," he whispered smugly.

His other hand rested on her hip, and he moved so that their chests were flush against each other's. Tommy leaned down, forehead resting against hers. He could feel her heated breaths over his lips. He lightly nipped her lips with his teeth, and he could feel the heat from her body against his thigh. Tommy laughed softly when he felt her brush her lips against his, and he pressed his lips against hers hard, only for her to pull away from him after only a few seconds of contact.

"I can't," she gasped. "I can't… Jason-"

He grabbed her face in his hands. "Stop talking."

Tommy kissed her hungrily, forcing her mouth open as his tongue slipped inside. Kim's hands shot up, grabbing onto his wrists as his tongue dueled with hers. He sucked her tongue into his mouth, swallowing her low moans as they kissed sensually against the wall. He felt Kim let go of his wrists, choosing instead to let her hands get lost in his thick hair.

He pulled away, the need to breathe overpowering. He kissed hotly down her jaw, lips finding the skin above her collar and sucking lightly on her pulse. She ground herself against his leg, and Tommy found the heat scorching through the spandex. The way she moaned his name sent a chill down his spine… and a bolt to his groin.

His hands found her breasts, massaging her nipples firmly with his thumbs. She grabbed his face, pulling him back up to kiss her, his bottom lip tucked between her teeth. Tommy's hands made their way to her ass, and he lifted her against the wall, settling her around his waist.

The sudden six-tone beep of Kimberly's communicator washed over them like a bucket of ice water, and she ripped her lips away from his suddenly. The two stared at each other as they caught their breath.

"Kim here," she said softly into the small device.

"We have Jason. Report back to the command center immediately," came Billy's voice across the link.

She took a deep breath, and he could see her expression change when the reality of the last few minutes hit her. Tommy held the pink ranger up against the wall, her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. Her hands were on his shoulders, and his hands cupped her ass. The bulge in his pants and the heaviness of his breath were sure signs of his arousal.

He moved to kiss her again, but she held him back forcefully.

"What?" he asked gruffly.

"This shouldn't have happened," she said, unlocking her legs from around him to rest firmly on the ground. She moved his hands from their perch on her ass.

His eyes flashed angrily. "Didn't seem like a mistake. You were two seconds away from begging me to fuck you."

Tommy was sure if looks could kill, he would be dead with that comment.

"I have to leave. _Jason_ needs me," she said before teleporting out of the Lunar Palace, not giving him the chance to retort.

He growled, punching the wall angrily where she once stood. He knew she said the comment about Jason on purpose, just to get under his skin.

And damn it to Hell, it worked.

As expected, he heard Zedd's roar of anger, confirming that Jason had indeed escaped. Tommy picked up his helmet and made his way quickly to the throne room. He adjusted himself inside his pants, making a futile attempt to cover his arousal before deciding to hide it behind his helmet.

When he entered the throne room, he watched with glee as Zedd tore into Goldar, berating the warrior for his inability to detain the red ranger.

Tommy was glad it was Goldar being yelled at instead of him. Zedd was downright frightening when he was angry; he even glowed.

"I assure you, master, it will not happen again."

Lord Zedd was radiant with anger in his seat. "For your sake, I hope not."

Goldar bowed, leaving the room. Tommy watched him leave with a smug look.

'_Green ranger: 1, Goldie: 0.'_

"Would you like me to recapture the red ranger?" asked Tommy from the corner of the room.

Lord Zedd looked at him in surprise, not expecting him to be in the throne room. "No, his escape is of little consequence. We got what we needed; the message was received."

"Of course," said Tommy with a bow. "I will be on my way."

"Wait," said Zedd, and the teen paused in his tracks. "Come here, green ranger."

Tommy walked over, stopping when he was in front of the larger man.

"I saw you fighting against the red ranger. You were quite impressive," Zedd commented.

"I was highly motivated to bring him down," said Tommy, chest swelling from the praise.

"From what Goldar told me, the motivation is strong. Hold onto it." The red being stared hard at Tommy. "I found myself in a situation similar to yours many years ago."

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "Your best friend stabbed you in the back, too? Small world."

Zedd gave a short laugh at the teen's sarcasm. "Not quite. I was betrayed by my brother."

Tommy whistled lowly, deciding to take a seat near Zedd's feet. "Tough. What happened?"

From what Tommy knew, Lord Zedd was a pretty private person - rarely talking to anyone for any reason beyond business. He was a bit surprised at Zedd's decision to share some of his past with him, and the teen listened to his mentor with rapt attention.

"I trusted him, shared everything I had with him." His long nails clicked against his armrest. "And in return, he left me stranded in the M51 galaxy, taking all my possessions and power. Told everyone I was dead."

The teen shook his head, helmet clutched in his hands. "What'd you do?"

"I made some alliances with people who could get things done." Zedd played with his nails idly. "When I found my brother, I ripped out his spine and blew a hole through his chest where his heart was. And I went after everyone that helped him."

"How'd that work out?" Tommy asked, slightly nauseous at the thought of ripping out someone's spine.

"I'm here, aren't I?"

The green ranger considered this. "Point taken."

The teen sighed, feeling somewhat obligated to share his story now that Zedd opened up. "When Rita captured me… I figured the power rangers would come to my rescue." He laughed. "When I found out who they were, I knew it was a done deal. Told everyone here I'd be out in three days, max."

Tommy played with the clips on the sides of his helmet. "Rita wanted Jason to give up his power coin to her… or she would kill me. I thought with my life on the line, he'd do it for sure."

Zedd leaned forward. "Really?"

Tommy could hear the disbelief in the older man's voice. "I mean, I didn't think he'd _really_ give up his coin. I knew they could come up with some type of plan to trick Rita. You know, give her a fake coin, break into the Lunar Palace and rescue me while she tried to figure out what was wrong with the dummy coin."

He paused. "She's stupid enough that it could've actually worked."

Zedd laughed.

"But they didn't come for me." Anger crept into Tommy's voice. "When they asked him to make the trade, he said no. They told him they would _kill_ me, and he said no. Just like that."

Tommy laughed mirthlessly. "When Goldar told me, I told him he was lying. I even held out hope… thought that maybe Jason was coming up with something else, some secret plan." He shook his head. "And then a week passed, and another… nothing."

"Goldar told me the red ranger and you had a very close friendship before you were kidnapped. I am surprised he didn't at least attempt to rescue you," Zedd said curiously.

Tommy's jaw clenched. "So was I. But that's in the past… he betrayed our friendship and left me to die."

His nostrils flared. "I can't forgive that."

"And you shouldn't," hissed Lord Zedd. "You have every right to get back at him."

"I do, don't I?" said the green ranger after a moment of silence.

Tommy watched Zedd's eyes flash red. "Revenge, whatever the reason, is a source of power. It can be limitless if you allow it to consume you." He pointed at Tommy. "You saw today what you could do when it took over. You were a force to be reckoned with; you brought the red ranger to his knees."

Zedd grasped Tommy's shoulder in his hand, and teen looked up at his master thoughtfully, letting his words wash over him.

"Embrace it fully, green ranger, and you will be unstoppable."

* * *

**Oliver Residence**

**Tommy's Room**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**Saturday, 1:27 AM**

Tommy stared up at the white ceiling of his room, reflecting on Zedd's final words to him.

_Embrace it fully, green ranger, and you will be unstoppable._

He thought he had already fully embraced his quest for revenge, but then why would Zedd bring it up?

'_Am I holding back?_' he thought to himself.

He knew he was fighting with everything in him against Zack. He and the black ranger had a tense rapport even before he was the green ranger due to Zack feeling like Tommy replaced him as Jason's best friend. Zack became even more suspicious of Tommy due to his interest in Kimberly; he didn't like the newcomer trying to move in on Jason's girl. The two had just started getting along when Tommy was kidnapped, and his return as the green ranger did nothing to further their relationship. And with the admission that he slept with Angela, albeit for a brief period of time at the end of the previous year, Tommy was positive he and Zack would never be friends.

Billy and Trini were people Tommy actually had been friends with prior to being recruited by Rita. He never attacked them as brutally as he did Jason and Zack… but then again, he never needed to. The blue and yellow rangers seemed to understand that his problem was with Jason, not them. It didn't stop them from fighting him, but they seemed more willing to accept that the fight was between him and Jason.

And Jason… Before Zedd came along, Tommy knew he held back when fighting the red ranger. Despite the fact that Jason handed him over to Rita, the part of Tommy that was good still cared for his former friend. He didn't want to hurt Jason or fight against him, and from the way Jason never usually defended himself, it appeared the red ranger felt the same way.

But now, Tommy could care less if he ran Jason through with his sword. Without his morals, Tommy's anger and hatred towards the red ranger became the focus of his thoughts. He saw no need to protect Jason, to hold himself back from hurting him. Tommy could still feel Jason slamming down onto his knee and the rush he felt when the red ranger screamed in pain. He could only imagine what Goldar did to him before he was rescued.

Tommy licked his lips as his thoughts drifted to the final ranger, the pink ranger.

Kimberly. She was a distraction for sure, and Tommy couldn't deny he held back with her… not out of guilt or a need to protect her; he just couldn't explain it. He felt something else for her that made him give pause when fighting, something just beneath the surface.

His interactions with the pink ranger were always interesting, but had become increasingly so in the last few days. Something he couldn't define was growing between them. It was strong, addicting, and extremely dangerous given that they were on opposite sides.

He could still feel her soft lips pressed against his, hear her moans in his ear… Their kiss at the Lunar Palace was longer than the kiss they shared in his truck several months earlier, and he was happy to discover that she only tasted better with time.

Tommy wasn't quite sure what to make of his relationship with the pink ranger. Sometimes, they were at each other's throats, and other times, they couldn't seem to hide their attraction to each other. It was almost as if he wasn't the green ranger when he was with her; he was just Tommy again.

The Tommy that would simply look at her and be left breathless from how beautiful she was… the Tommy that would go out of his way to see her smile or make her laugh. The Tommy whose thoughts were only focused on her…

Until she brought up Jason.

'_Talk about a mood killer,'_ he thought with a scowl on his face.

Tommy was angry with himself as he realized he was back in the same cycle with Kimberly, even though he was now the green ranger. He and she were flirting with an attraction they had for each other, and every time, she would pull back because of Jason.

He was proud of himself for going for what he wanted despite Jason back in the Lunar Palace, acting on his desires without giving a shit about how anyone else felt or who might get hurt in the process. He loved having control of the situation, not letting Jason or Kim's feelings dictate his happiness.

He had to admit a small part of what made him go after Kimberly was knowing how much it would hurt Jason for her to cheat on him, especially with Tommy. Kim meant everything to Jason, so what better way to cause the red ranger pain than to seduce her?

And Tommy was no fool. Despite Kim's protests, she never gave a real attempt to get away from him, to stop his advances. He could see the hopeful glint in her eyes; hear the small gasp of excitement when he approached her.

She _wanted_ him to seduce her.

Tommy grinned as he closed his eyes.

He planned on giving her exactly what both of them wanted.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note:** Shorter chapter than the others, but the next will be up real soon. Please read and review. :)_

___This scene and some of the next chapter is Tommy's POV on the one-shot "What Are We Doing". That's the only chance you'll get to see somebody else's viewpoint, so I'd recommend checking it out. Warning: it is only going to get much darker from here on out._

* * *

**Angel Grove Youth Center**

**Back Gymnasium**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**6:40 PM**

Tommy breathed deeply as he went through the motions of his kata. His black sweatpants hung low on his hips, and his green muscle shirt accentuated his arms and abs.

He was a little relieved to learn from Lord Zedd that there would be no battle for several days. He and Goldar had been attacking the power rangers nearly every day for a week, and he was grateful for the much-needed break.

He decided to spend his Saturday relieving stress. He went for a jog that morning around Angel Grove, and after a heavy lunch, he made his way to the Youth Center. The long-haired teen had been at it for nearly four hours, working out furiously before practicing his karate.

The last few days of school had been amusing. Tommy caught sight of Zack in the hallway, hobbling around on crutches due to his leg injury. He remembered the death glare Zack sent his way when he asked the black ranger how he got hurt. When Tommy asked Zack where Jason was, he knew the black ranger was about to throttle him. The red ranger has suffered extensive damages from his fight with Tommy and time alone with Goldar, and consequently was out of school for several days, choosing to cover it up as being mugged by masked robbers.

Tommy told Zack to give Jason his condolences, and he could tell from the look in Zack's eyes that the black ranger was thinking of how badly he could beat Tommy with his crutches.

The green ranger took a deep breath as his kata came to an end, eyes widening when he saw that it was nearly 7 PM. The Youth Center would be closing soon.

The teen walked the halls of the Youth Center, stopping when he saw Kim walk out of the women's restroom across the room.

He hadn't known she was at the Youth Center; the sight of her made his eyes flash green in anticipation.

'_Perfect.'_

Tommy watched from the shadows as Kim headed over to her backpack.

"Hey, Kim! I have to head home right now, family emergency. Would you mind locking up for me?" Ernie asked hurriedly as he headed to the door.

She smiled brightly. "No problem, Ernie."

He sighed in relief. "Thanks, Kim. I owe you one."

She nodded, waving to him as he rushed out of the Youth Center. She made her way over to the tables, grabbing her things and putting them in her backpack. She glanced at the balance beam, biting her lip, and Tommy could tell she was wrestling with the idea of practicing one more time.

Tommy leaned lazily against the doorjamb, clapping slowly to catch her attention. He hadn't been there long, but he knew the mere thought that he had been watching would unnerve her.

That was exactly what he wanted.

"What do you want?" she asked viciously.

He grinned, pushing off of the doorframe and heading in her direction. He saw her body tense as she noticed him admiring her in her shorts and tank top, eyes resting on her breasts and barely-covered ass.

"Just enjoying the view." He stood in front of her. "How's Jason?"

She glared angrily at him. "I don't know, Tommy. Since he's been back from Zedd's lair, he's been just _peachy_," she said sarcastically.

Tommy grinned, brushing a finger along her hairline. "We were just giving him a standard welcome to the Lunar Palace." She stepped back from him. "He wasn't very nice by not accepting our version of hospitality."

She shook her head sadly. "Do you hear yourself, Tommy? This isn't like you."

"You know nothing about me, Kimberly," he hissed.

"I know the Tommy I know would never willingly hurt Jason… or any of us."

"The Tommy you know is long gone," he reminded her. "Get used to it, pink ranger."

Kim scowled, grabbing her backpack off the floor as she prepared to leave. Tommy's eyes flashed green in anger and he grabbed her arm.

"We weren't finished talking," he growled.

"Yes, we were," she growled back, tugging her arm from him roughly before heading to the door.

Tommy ran quickly, moving to block her way out. "And where exactly are you going, pink ranger? Off to find Jason and cry to him? Tell him that big bad Tommy was harassing you?"

He chuckled. "You rangers disgust me with your weakness."

Kim scoffed, throwing her backpack onto the floor as she marched up to him. "You call us weak? You're a coward, Tommy. You can't even face Jason like a man so you kidnap him when his back is turned. You come at us with your little sneak attacks and your stupid dagger. Try fighting like a man for once."

The green ranger raised an eyebrow at her impassioned words, and he felt a strong wave of arousal hit him from her challenge.

"I'll prove to you how much of a man I am," he said huskily. He saw her tense at his words, and he could feel the air around them cackle with sexual tension.

"Let's go. Now." He stepped back, assuming a defensive stance as he looked at her.

The pink ranger hesitantly took a stance of her own. He knew on skill and strength alone, he was superior, but she was very quick. Tommy knew she would try to evade him and wasn't about to let her get away from him.

He moved quickly, and she narrowly avoided the tornado kick he launched at her. She crouched low, ducking his blows skillfully. The green ranger inwardly smiled as the petite girl defended herself against him, and he was momentarily distracted, long enough for her to land a solid punch to his jaw. He growled in irritation, kicking her in the stomach sharply before performing a low sweep to her feet.

He pounced on her as she fell, noticing the dazed look in her eyes. His face was very close to hers, and he heard her gasp softly when she locked eyes with him.

"Do you yield this fight, pink ranger?" he asked. He was straddling her, his right forearm braced against her throat.

She stared at him, and he could see the defiance in her eyes. At her silence, he pressed harder, making it difficult for her to breathe.

"Do you yield?" he asked again.

She gave a slight nod, and he backed off - only to be sucker punched in the face. She scrambled to get away from him, and he grabbed her legs, pulling her back towards him. Kim tried in vain to grab her backpack - he assumed that's where her morpher was - but Tommy dragged her across the blue mats, putting several feet between her and her bag. She reached for her communicator, forcing him to grab her wrists and hold them down on the mat before rolling her over. He undid the clasp of her communicator, carelessly tossing it across the room.

He instantly became aware of their compromising position, his powerful thighs on either side of her legs, and her small frame trapped beneath his. He took note of her flushed face, her doe brown eyes looking up at him in anticipation. Tommy stared down at her, eyes drawn to her full lips.

He needed to kiss her.

He felt her jerk when his lips covered hers, as she was unprepared for the kiss. She didn't respond for some time, allowing him to plunder her mouth at will, and she finally bit his lip hard when she seemingly regained her senses.

Tommy pulled back, licking the wound curiously before looking back down at Kim, her chest heaving as she attempted to catch her breath. He kissed her again, rougher this time, and her hands braced themselves against his chest pushing hard while he held the sides of her face.

Tommy could hear his heart pounding in his ears, and he felt lightheaded as his tongue dueled with hers. He could feel Kim's hands pressed against his chest, but her mouth was responding favorably to his. He sucked her tongue into his mouth, and he could hear her groan against him as he kissed her deeply.

Her attempts to fight against him were ignored, as he could tell she was enjoying the kiss, otherwise she wouldn't be kissing him back. He kissed her relentlessly, only pulling back the barest of millimeters for air before hotly claiming her mouth again and again. He felt her push against him with her hips, forcing his erection to rub against her crotch, and she moaned around his tongue.

His lips fell away from hers, trailing down her neck as he sucked hard on the sensitive skin. Her body felt hot as his fingers trailed down it. He reached the hem of her shirt before pushing the fabric upwards. His large hands caressed her small breasts firmly, and she let out a pleasurable moan as he flicked his finger against her hardened nipples. His mouth moved down to her chest, latching onto one of the small pebbles, lashing them eagerly with his tongue.

She held a hand to the back of his head as he suckled her, fingers curling in his hair. Tommy trailed his tongue to the other nipple, latching on and giving it the same treatment as the first. He ground himself into her hard, loving the feel of her against him.

All he wanted to do was bury himself inside her body and take her, right there on the mat.

And a thought occurred to him. _'Why not?'_

She certainly wanted it, and it was the one time they could act on what had been building between them since day one without any interruptions.

His hands made their way to her firm stomach, massaging the exposed skin before heading down to the front of her shorts. He unbuttoned them, sliding them down her legs and tossing them behind him.

"Oh god," he heard her say weakly, and smirked at her half-hearted attempt to shove him off of her. He grinned when he felt her thighs spread as his hand neared her sex, and he slipped a strong hand below the waistline of her panties. His finger slid along her sex, and he smirked when he saw she was already wet for him.

The pushes against his shoulders quickly turned into scratches as she dug her nails into his skin. He watched her with green eyes as her mouth opened wide and her eyes fluttered, and she moaned as he fingered her quickly. His ring finger joined his middle, and he felt her hips rotate against his digits in time with his strokes.

"That's it," he encouraged softly, cock hardening at the sight of her writhing on the floor in pleasure from his deft fingers. Her eyes were closed, and he was surprised to find her so wet so fast.

'_Jason must not be doing something right,'_ he thought arrogantly as fucked her with his fingers.

'_Or maybe he just isn't me.'_

He pulled his fingers out when he felt her grip around them increase, preferring to feel the sensation around his cock. He stripped her of her panties quickly, lowering his sweatpants and boxers so only his length was visible, and he pushed himself inside of her.

She arched suddenly at the intrusion and the shift of her hips allowed him to slip in to the hilt. He braced himself on his hands, eyes closed as he let himself enjoy the tight wetness around his shaft. He felt her inner muscles stretch to accommodate his size, thighs spreading wider to give him room. He gave an experimental thrust and took Kim's weak moan as a sign to continue.

Tommy sat on his knees, pulling her towards him so that her bottom rested on his thighs. He began to thrust forcefully inside her, and he delighted in her loud cry of pleasure at the sensation. His hands found hers on the mat, and he locked their fingers together as he rocked his hips into hers. She feebly tried to push him off of her with her hips, but she only succeeded in exciting both of them by increasing the friction between their bodies.

"Stop fighting me," he said around a groan. He had never experienced sex with someone as tight as her, and it was wreaking havoc on his senses.

Tommy was positive that this was some fluke of nature. Kim had to have cracked her head on the balance beam or something to allow him to take her like this. Whatever the case, the green ranger was going to make the most out of the opportunity, making sure she never forgot this moment between them.

He was going to demolish any experience she ever had with Jason.

Tommy smiled widely when her hips began to roll against his and they finally found their rhythm together, hard and fast on the Youth Center floor. He leaned down, capturing a bouncing nipple in his mouth, biting down before soothing it with his tongue.

"You're so fucking tight," he gasped out against her skin.

Tommy stretched their hands high above their heads and he nipped at Kimberly's earlobe. His pelvis slammed into hers repeatedly, and he felt a small thrill each time he heard her gasp breathlessly from the force of his strokes. Her breaths came harshly in his ear, and he grunted when her mouth clamped down on his shoulder, biting him hard.

It was quiet in the center save for Kim's soft moans, his heavy grunts, and the sound of skin slapping hard against skin. He could feel himself about to lose it soon, and he grabbed her legs, lifting her ankles over his shoulders as he began to thrust harder.

Tommy could feel her walls bearing down on him, and from the way her moans evolved into full-on screams, it was clear she was close. Tommy could feel an intoxicating surge of accomplishment flow through him as he watched Kim frantically buck beneath him, her thighs trembling as a sign of her impending climax.

She was close to an incredible orgasm, and he knew it from how she was squirming and crying out. He grinned smugly against her neck as he fucked her harder on the floor.

He felt like a god.

Her eyes connected with his briefly, and he saw a flash of panic before she closed them tightly.

"Look at me," he ordered, snapping his hips hard so that her eyes popped open.

"Oh god," she moaned loudly. "I can't…"

Her walls contracted deliciously around his length, and her grip on his hands tightened considerably. The promise ring on her finger cut into the flesh of his fingers from her grip.

"Don't… ohgod… no…"

"Yes," he growled, eyes closed as he felt his balls tighten. "Cum for me, please."

He knew the idea that he was going to make her cum both frightened and angered her, and that made him more determined to bring her to climax. He was slightly amused at her attempts to fight the inevitable… as if she had a choice. He leaned forward, grinding his pelvis against her clit as he thrust inside her faster. He needed her to cum, to watch her lose control as her tight heat twitched around his cock and her body shivered beneath his in ecstasy.

He watched her eyes flutter, teeth bared as she tried to hold back. Tommy grabbed her hips tightly, straightening his back so that he could ram himself inside of her deeply. Kim let out a loud scream after each thrust, the tip of him stroking her spot repeatedly, forcing her toes to curl. He let out a laugh when she arched high, hands fisting the mats almost painfully as she twisted on the ground. Tommy was sure she didn't even realize she was begging him not to stop. His balls smacked rhythmically against her bottom, and he knew his climax would be powerful from the weight in his sack.

"That's it baby," he moaned, feeling the tightness around his cock become unbearable, and a single request came to his mind.

He needed to hear it.

"Scream my name."

His eyes remained locked on her face, and he burned the image of her face contorting in intense pleasure as she came hard around him, screaming his name loudly as he continued thrusting with gritted teeth, the sound of her cries echoing off the walls... Her hands clenched the blue mats tightly, and he rested a hand against her trembling stomach, eyes flashing green in satisfaction as he felt her shudder violently beneath him. The contractions in her abdomen were powerful, nearly causing her to double over; he knew without a doubt that she had never cum so hard in her life.

Hearing her cry his name, combined with the knowledge the he was responsible for such a powerful climax from her and the flush of wetness on his cock was too much for him. He came suddenly, load after load emptying inside of her as he shivered from his long orgasm. His pelvis pumped sporadically against hers as pure pleasure coursed through his veins, one hand nearly bruising her hip while the other fisted her shirt as he shook, body hunched over as he continuously moaned her name.

He gasped as his release finally came to an end, stopping his thrusts once he was sure every bit of him had emptied into her. He pulled out slowly, falling back onto his butt as he stared at the sated pink ranger. She rolled over weakly, closing her legs slightly as she rested with her eyes closed. Tommy breathed hard, body covered in sweat. His hips were beginning to bruise and his legs felt extremely sore, but his body was beyond satisfied.

Tommy stood shakily, pulling himself up before walking over to grab some napkins off the counter. He wiped himself off carefully, yanking his pants and boxers back up. Walking over to the pink ranger, Tommy realized she was crying.

He placed the remaining napkins beside her, and she rolled over, her face turned away from his.

He debated on saying something to her, but he realized there were really no words to address what just happened. He had sex with Kimberly, the pink ranger, the red ranger's girlfriend, right there on the floor of the Youth Center.

He took her tears as her shame at having slept with him, most likely disgusted with herself for sleeping with the enemy.

For cheating on Jason.

And he suddenly became angry, choosing to teleport out of the Youth Center instead of facing her rejection.

Again.

He landed in his quarters at the Lunar Palace, hands fisted at his sides.

The sex was admittedly a bit rough, but he didn't force her to sleep with him. Kim was a lot stronger than she looked, and even with his physical advantage and lack of morals, he didn't force himself on her.

Tommy sat on his bed, lying back as he stared tiredly at the ceiling. He had never cum so hard in his life.

It felt absolutely incredible to fuck her so recklessly in the Youth Center. He hadn't been thinking about anything when he grabbed her, only acting on what he needed.

And he had needed to touch her, to be inside of her.

Tommy had never felt so gratified after sex than he did at that moment. He could remember well sliding in and out of her on the floor, feeling her teeth bite into his shoulder as he rammed her into the mat, her walls clenching around him tightly before she came so hard...

He was getting hard again just thinking about it.

And then there was the added bonus that Kimberly was still Jason's girlfriend. His reason for sleeping with her had less to do with hurting Jason and more to do with doing what he wanted and making himself happy.

But if Jason ever knew what happened between them, Tommy was positive he would be crushed.

'_Good,'_ Tommy thought. _'I can't wait to tell him.'_

The image of Kim's beautiful face twisted in pure bliss as he made her cum was seared into his mind, her screams to promise he would never stop still ringing in his ears. He would never be able to walk into the Youth Center again without thinking of what happened tonight.

And suddenly, Tommy sat up as he came to a realization.

There was _no_ way that she didn't enjoy what happened based on her behavior. Tommy had never had sex with a more expressive partner than Kimberly, and she was clearly enjoying every moment of their coupling.

Maybe she was crying because she betrayed Jason or even felt bad for sleeping with the person that had been tormenting her and her teammates for the last few months…

But there was one thing Tommy was sure about what happened between them.

She loved it just as much as he did.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's Note:** I've never gotten so many PMs about a fic before in my life, LOL. I'm glad to know you all are reading and enjoying this fic. It's very encouraging on those days when I just don't feel like writing, especially since this is a three-parter._

___That being said, here is chapter 5! As always, please read and review. All feedback is appreciated. :)_  


* * *

**Angel Grove High School**

**Parking Lot**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**Wednesday, 7:47 AM**

Tommy locked the door of his truck as he headed to the doors of AGHS. His hair hung loosely over the collar of his blue and black flannel shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and the buttons were undone, revealing his black wifebeater. His CD player was tucked into the front pocket of his denim jeans, music blasting in his ears as he opened the front door of the school.

Four days had passed since his encounter with Kimberly in the Youth Center, and she was avoiding him like the plague. She physically distanced herself from him in class, going so far as to take the long way to her classes just to stay away from him.

If she wanted to act like nothing happened between them, that was her prerogative.

But he knew she'd never forget.

The green ranger made his way to his locker, pressing pause in the middle of "Regulate" by Warren G. Opening his backpack, he switched his notebooks, taking out the ones he would need for the day. A tap on his shoulder broke his concentration, and he turned to meet the irritated face of Zack Taylor.

"What?" Tommy asked gruffly.

"What did you do to Kimberly?" asked the black ranger.

Tommy paused as he placed his history book in his backpack. "Why would you think I did anything to her, crip?"

Zack scowled, his grip on his crutches tightening. "Because you two have been avoiding each other."

Tommy shrugged. "That's nothing new. All of you make it a point to keep away from me."

"True, but Kim's the one that at least makes an effort to talk to you," Zack pointed out. "Now she acts like you don't even exist."

"I would think you'd be happy about that." Tommy sighed, slamming his locker closed. "If you're so curious, ask Kim. She can tell you herself. I have stuff to do."

The green ranger turned to leave but stopped when the handle of Zack's crutch pressed into his chest.

"Leave her alone," said the shorter teen coldly.

Tommy glanced down at the handle of the crutch before leaning in close to Zack, voice dropping to a whisper.

"And if I don't… what the _fuck_ are you gonna do about it?"

He backed up when Zack tensed. "That's what I thought."

He pushed aside the crutch and began walking down the hall. Tommy grinned widely when he saw Jason headed his way, Kim at his side. They were holding hands.

'_How cute,'_ he thought snidely.

"Jason, nice to see you," said Tommy with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. The red ranger glared at him. Kim shot him a panicked look.

"Heard what happened to you." Tommy shook his head sadly. "Mugged by robbers? That's terrible. Did they catch them?"

"No," said Jason tightly. "They got away."

"Damn," said the green ranger before his gaze turned to Kimberly. "Hi, Kim."

"Hi," she said tersely.

Tommy saw Zack come up to stand on her other side. Tommy ignored him.

"Haven't seen you since that day at the Youth Center. How've you been?" he asked.

Jason's brow furrowed. "You ran into each other at the Youth Center?"

Tommy nodded. "Oh, yes. And don't worry Jason, Kim wasn't in any danger. I was _real_ good to her."

He ignored the heated glare she sent his way.

"He's telling the truth; he didn't hurt me," she reassured her boyfriend.

'_The last thing I did was hurt you,'_ the green ranger thought to himself.

"I think we just both needed a… release," he said, reveling in the way her face flushed. "With all the fighting and all that. We're all a bit tense."

Tommy saw Zack's eyes narrow dangerously when Kim began to fidget.

Jason eyed the taller teen warily. "Yeah, I suppose."

The first bell rang, and Jason turned to Kim. "Stop by my house later?"

She nodded, and Tommy could see her flinch slightly when he pressed a kiss against her lips. Jason grabbed Zack's backpack off the ground, and the two headed off to their first class of the day.

Tommy waved goodbye to them, a wide smile on his face. He grunted when he felt a hard punch in his back.

Angrily, he turned to Kimberly. "Ow. What the hell?"

"What the fuck was that, Tommy? You think this shit is funny?" she hissed.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I do… but only a little bit, though."

"Well, it's not," she said angrily. "I never should've given in to you."

Tommy's eyes flashed green. "But you did."

She ran a shaky hand through her hair. "I can't do this with you right now. I have to get to class."

He watched her walk away, slightly disappointed she gave up so quickly, only to brighten up when she turned around again.

"Meet me at the park tonight by the bench next to the merry-go-round at 11 o'clock," she whispered.

"Is that an order?" he asked, amused with how secretive she was trying to be.

"It's a request. Don't be late."

Tommy had a pretty good idea of what their meeting would be about, and the thought made him scowl as he headed to class.

"Don't hurt Jason… Jason can never know… blah blah blah…" he muttered to himself. He didn't know if he could stomach another conversation on why he should care about how Jason feels.

Since he became the green ranger, most of his attacks were aimed at Jason. He had been confronted countless times about how terrible it was to go after the red ranger, how torn up about his kidnapping Jason was…

Exactly how Jason was able to find a group of people who were so willing to overlook such obvious flaws in him and defend him so fiercely was baffling to Tommy.

Admittedly, there might have been a time when he would have been one of those lost souls, bound to Jason by friendship. His time as Rita's captive shattered any illusions he had of the red ranger, and he was grateful that he was able to see Jason for what he really was.

A fraud.

A coward, whose friends were either too trusting or too stupid to realize that if it came down to him or them, Jason would throw them right under the bus.

Jason wasn't a leader in Tommy's eyes. A leader made the necessary sacrifices, the tough decisions that no one else can make when under pressure. A leader had integrity.

"Fuck Jason," he mumbled as he took his seat in the back of his English class.

He wasn't going to the park to see her. There was nothing she had to say that he wanted to hear.

* * *

**Lunar Palace**

**Training Room**

**The Moon**

**Local time, unknown**

"Again. You're not focused today, green ranger."

Tommy sighed, lifting the sword once more before bowing to his trainer.

Scorpina twirled the two swords in her hand, attacking the green ranger fiercely. Tommy blocked her blows, grunting when she kicked him in the chest.

"Block everywhere. I've told you that repeatedly."

He nodded, bringing his sword up to keep her from slicing him, and his muscles strained from the effort. Tommy gritted his teeth, dropping to one knee.

"You're stronger than you think," she reminded, pressing down on him. "You want me to stop coming at you, then stop me."

Tommy closed his eyes, letting out a fierce shout as he let out a blast of energy, flinging the swords out of her hands and embedding them into the wall.

"Excellent," she said with a smirk. "You are making tremendous progress."

He sagged to the floor, lying on his back as he stared up at the ceiling. "We done for the day?" he asked hopefully.

Scorpina laughed. "Yes, Tommy, I believe we are."

Tommy had been training with Scorpina nearly every day since Lord Zedd arrived at the Lunar Palace. He had originally been training under Goldar, but given how close the two always came to killing each other, Lord Zedd passed the task off to Scorpina.

Tommy enjoyed training under the female warrior far more than he did Goldar. Scorpina was just as aggressive and difficult to fight, but at least she wasn't hideous. He figured if he had to get his ass beat on a daily basis, he'd rather be under a hot woman than a freaky monkey-thing like Goldar.

It was slightly frustrating to Tommy to be training instead of fighting the rangers. Zedd insisted that the teen focus on sharpening his skills for the impending invasion and temporarily pulled him off duty as the green ranger. Where he would normally spend his time fighting the rangers or trying to kill Jason, he was now forced to stare at the same four walls of his training room, day after day.

The only plus side of training was that his time with the silent warrior helped him get to know her better. She was the head general in Lord Zedd's Dark Empire, excellent at both strategy and combat. He learned that Scorpina was really smart, freakishly so, and she actually had a sense of humor, dry as it was.

Scorpina had been sold to the Dark Empire when she was a child as a concubine, but Zedd saw something inside of her that he felt could be exploited. Scorpina was beautiful, and her mutation, a large scorpion's tail at the base of her spine, made her deadly. Seeing the potential she held, Zedd had her trained by the best masters in the universe. Scorpina was now a master warrior of eight fighting styles and seventeen weapons, making her a one-woman army.

Sometimes after training, she would tell him about her battles across the universe. He particularly enjoyed the one where she defeated Goldgoyle for control of KO-35, embarrassing the lieutenant by making him strip in front of his army before beheading him.

"You seem distracted today, Tommy," she said, taking a meditative pose on the floor.

"Yeah," he admitted. "Just a lot on my mind."

And by a lot, he naturally meant 105 pounds of pink ranger.

She nodded, eyes closed. "Anything you'd like to share?"

He shook his head. "Not really. Just stupid stuff." The last thing he needed to share with Scorpina was that he had sex with the pink power ranger and was thinking about her while he was training to destroy her and her team.

Something told him that might not go over so well.

"You sure?" she asked eyeing him carefully.

"Yeah, it's good." He flashed a smile.

Scorpina closed her eyes again. "You need to confront whatever it is that's distracting you. All it takes is one distraction in battle for it to be your last."

Her words hung heavily in the air.

"I understand," he said softly, staring up at the ceiling.

He knew she was right. Thinking about Kim nearly got him skewered at least six times that day in practice. He didn't _want_ to think about the pink ranger or what happened between them, but it was all that was on his mind as of late.

"Get into position," she ordered.

When he remained lying on the ground, her tail uncurled from around her waist, zapping him lightly on the leg. He frowned in her direction, noticing the small smirk on her face.

"Now."

Tommy groaned loudly, pulling himself up into a sitting position. He crossed his legs in the same manner she did, curling his index fingers and thumbs inward before pressing his hands together.

"Do your breathing exercises," she said softly.

Tommy took a deep breath, emptying his mind as he concentrated on the energy flowing through his body. He could visualize the green swirls of energy in his body and focused on moving it around. Scorpina told him he needed to familiarize every part of his body with his green ranger energy, making it so that any part of him could call on it at will.

Tommy could feel his hair floating around his head, his body levitating off the ground.

"Good," she said. "Now harness the energy and direct it."

He nodded, focusing on lifting his body higher into the air.

And suddenly, the image of a beautiful face with chestnut locks and doe brown eyes appeared in his mind, and Tommy fell abruptly to the ground.

He blinked as he stared dazedly up at Scorpina, who was shaking her head with an annoyed expression. He growled, hands pressed into the sides of his head in frustration.

This needed to end.

* * *

**Angel Grove Park**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**11:07 PM**

Tommy walked slowly along the sidewalk to the far side of Angel Grove Park.

'_Why am I here?' _he asked himself crossly, mentally cursing Scorpina. He already knew how this conversation would end; he wished he could simply skip to the end.

He could make out Kim's small frame resting on the park bench, and he checked his watch.

11:07 PM.

"I didn't think you'd show," he heard her say.

"I didn't either," he admitted.

"So why did you?" she asked curiously.

He shrugged, leaving it at that. "What do you want, pink ranger?"

Kimberly stood, arms crossed over her chest. She walked towards a nearby tree, shrouding herself in darkness. She indicated for him to follow, and he moved from under the lamppost to stand with her.

"We need to talk about… what happened."

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "I would think you'd want to forget."

"I do," she insisted much to his annoyance. "But we need to get some things straight."

The green ranger stared at her for several seconds. "So talk."

She sighed. "It meant nothing… I need us to be clear about that."

Tommy's chest tightened considerably, and he was surprised at the sting he felt from her words. "Next," he said gruffly.

"Next," she began, "Jason can never know. It was a one-time thing, and it would kill him if he knew."

He sighed inwardly. Kim was so predictable at times.

'_Always about Jason.'_

Tommy smiled wickedly. "Not to be rude, pink ranger, but I live to destroy your team, _especially_ your pathetic red ranger. This is the perfect opportunity."

Jason was head over heels in love with Kimberly. If he knew that she slept with Tommy while he was evil, Jason might never recover.

'_That's an appealing thought.'_

He could see the fear creep into her eyes. "Tommy, no… please."

"It's what he deserves," he said gruffly.

Kim shook her head. "That's the spell talking." She placed a hand over his heart. "We both know that in here, you care for him."

Tommy grabbed her hand in his, neither confirming nor denying her claim. He knew she was speaking the truth on some level as he still held vivid memories of his life before becoming evil. He clearly remembered the friendship he had with Jason, Kim, and all the other rangers.

"If that's true, how do you explain what happened in the Youth Center? Or better yet, since you _love _him so much, why didn't you resist me? I certainly didn't force you."

When she had no answer, he laughed. _'My point exactly.'_

"I know this isn't you, Tommy. You need to fight Zedd's influence," she pleaded.

"You don't get it… I _like _the way I am, Kimberly. I'm free," he said happily. "I'm not as helpless as you all think. I can do what I want, when I want."

She shook her head. "You're just Zedd's puppet, Tommy."

Tommy would never deny that; he signed up for the job. But unlike them, he knew what he was doing and what he was getting into.

'_Who's she to talk? They take orders from a large floating head,'_ he thought angrily.

"We're all puppets, Kim. I'm just a puppet that can see the strings. You walk around in a cage you can't see you're in."

Tommy laughed aloud. "Rita's control on me was not as strong as you'd like to believe, and Lord Zedd is not forcing me into this."

She stared at him in what looked to be disbelief. "I don't believe that. The things you've done, Tommy…"

"…have not been all their fault." He rolled his eyes. "It's not this horrible experience where I can't control my actions. The destroying Zordon part is all Zedd, but it's a nice trade-off for me."

At her questioning gaze, he continued. "When your team destroyed the Sword of Darkness, you broke Rita's spell, but I had no desire to be good again... not anymore. Lord Zedd made me stronger than before so that I can _finally_ have my revenge, and in return, I serve him and the Dark Empire. I _chose_ this."

She raised an eyebrow. "So you kill willingly?" He could hear the disgust in her tone.

He shrugged. "I don't care for killing, but I no longer have any inhibitions, nothing to keep me from taking what I want. Why would I give that up?"

He undressed her with his eyes. "I'm able to do things I never would before." The image of her beneath him on the Youth Center floor came to mind.

She seemed not to notice. "So this desire to hurt us… it's personal?" she asked, hurt creeping into her voice.

"Yes and no. I have to hurt you because of Lord Zedd, but I don't have anything against Billy, Trini, or Zack personally."

This was true. Billy and Trini were okay in his book. Zack was a nuisance, but that was always the case.

"But you do against Jason and me?"

He scowled, eyes giving a green glow. "Jason knows what he did to me." His fists clenched tightly. "He believes that because he is the leader of your team, he can challenge me in battle as if I can't defeat him – I _will_ take him down."

He glanced at Kim. "And he has something I want."

He pointed at her. "You."

She shivered slightly from his words. "You don't want me, Tommy."

"You still think this is the _spell_ talking?" he asked laughing. The green ranger moved close to her. "I've wanted you since I first met you, pink ranger."

He circled her. "I desired you, even liked you, but you chose to stay with that _idiot_ Jason despite your obviously reciprocated feelings. Out of respect for your relationship and my friendship with him, I didn't pursue you."

He stopped, standing in front of her. "Not anymore. I'm taking what I want… but you already know that, don't you?" he said nastily.

She reached out to strike him, and he gripped her wrist tightly. "Given what happened the last time you touched me, I would think you learned your lesson," he said with a leer.

"Fuck you," she hissed, snatching her wrist from him as though her skin burned where he touched her.

Her anger was making his heart beat rapidly; she was turning him on. "Already did, sweetheart. What's next?"

Kim growled. "Tommy, I swear to God, if you tell Jason, I will-"

He laughed. "You'll _what_? Kill me? We both know you don't have the stomach to do it." He leaned in close to her, forcing her back against the tree.

"I _fucked_ you, Kimberly… accept it. Jason's going to find out." He moved so that his lips rested near her ear. "And I'm going to make sure he knows just how much you loved _every_ last second of it," he whispered hotly.

She shoved against his chest hard, angrily lashing out and slapping him across the face. His face burned where she hit him, and he found himself both angry and aroused.

"You shouldn't have done that, Kimberly."

He slammed her into the tree, face hovering over hers. She pushed at him, but he grabbed her wrists, forcing them over her head.

"And here we are again," he said softly. "You and I, alone…" He grinned. "For someone that says it was a one-time thing, you sure aren't very convincing…"

He kept her wrists pinned with his left hand, the right dusting over her nipples through her thin shirt before trailing to her hip.

"I love Jason," she hissed.

He growled, pressing himself against her so that she could feel his erection.

"Then why are you here with me?"

She had no time to answer his question as his lips smashed into hers, tongue moving against hers in the way his cock wanted to. He pulled away, leaving her lips bruised and her body breathless.

"Jason doesn't make you feel like this…" He placed a hand over her heart, feeling it beat rapidly against her chest.

"Do you really love him, pink ranger?" he asked curiously, hand snaking under her shirt as he pushed her bra up, massaging her breasts.

She nodded, eyes rolling into her head.

"And does he love you?" he asked, lips pressed gently against her pulse as he licked her. He heard her breath hitch in her throat.

Kim twisted to try to break his hold. "Y-Yes," she said around a moan.

His hand made its way past her skirt, and he wrapped her leg around his hip, trailing his hand up her thigh to tug on her panties. The heat there nearly burned his hand.

"That's unfortunate… for him," he said, switching hands so that he could lift her other leg.

"How is love unfortunate?" she asked, and his eyes connected with hers, his face illuminated by the moonlight.

"I never said it was, just that it's unfortunate that he loves _you_."

And it was true. Kim clearly didn't love Jason as much as he did her. Tommy knew if she really tried, she could get him off of her and leave the park. But instead, she was letting this happen.

And he wasn't about to stop.

He released her hands, using his to pull her panties down her muscular thighs.

"Why?" she asked breathlessly, eyes widening slightly as he dropped to his knees, one of her thighs resting on each shoulder.

"Because…" He kissed her inner thigh. "…he has no idea…" Another kiss on the other thigh, higher up. "…that my name…" Higher still. "…is written all over…" He breathed over her sex. "…your body."

He pushed her skirt up her hips. "Every time you look at him, I want you to remember that only I can make you feel like this." He gave a quick swipe of his tongue along her slit. "And that you're mine."

His tongue worked its way inside her, and he heard her gasp excitedly at the sensation. Her hand found its way to his thick hair, and the other gripped the tree tightly.

Tommy smiled when he heard her soft cries of ecstasy above him, her hips rolling against his face as his tongue moved inside her. He used his tongue to spell his name inside of her, marking her as his in the most intimate way; he was currently on the 'm' of Thomas.

By the time he got to the 'r' at the end of his last name, she was shivering, body wound tight from his ministrations. His lips sought her clit, and he gently sucked it into his mouth, flicking it with his tongue. She gasped loudly then, hand pulling tightly on his hair.

"Oh god," she weakly moaned as she rode his face.

He gripped her thighs firmly, increasing the suction around the bundle of nerves, sending her careening into an orgasm.

"Ohmygod… oh… oh… _OH!_" Her hips rose against his face sharply, and his tongue expertly sought out every single drop of her release, licking her thoroughly.

One thigh dropped from his shoulder as he stood, and he gripped it around his waist. The other slid down, resting in the crook of his arm as he gripped the bark. Tommy kissed her hotly, and she frantically unbuttoned his jeans, yanking his pants and underwear down, his erection out in its full glory.

He thrust inside her eagerly and for him, it felt like coming home. Tommy shoved roughly into her, his head buried in her shoulder as he told her how good it felt to fuck her like this. She dug her nails into his skin, one hand on his shoulder, the other into his backside. The pain from her nails only aroused him more.

Tommy had only hoped that he would be able to repeat what happened between them in the Youth Center once more. Never did he imagine that the night he was sure he'd get into an argument with her would be the second time the two found themselves doing what was becoming natural to them.

He groaned in her ear, thrusting vigorously into her. The fact that they were outside in a public place where they could easily be caught only heightened the experience for him, and Tommy felt a bit dizzy.

His hand gripped the underside of her knee, and he pulled her closer, slamming his pelvis into hers hard. Kim's head was thrown back against the tree, a cry erupting from her after each stroke. Tommy's hands gripped her hips tightly as he pounded into her, a groan of pleasure escaping him each time he sank inside of her body. He could feel his balls tightening in anticipation of release, and from her frenzied thrusts, he could tell she was close.

Tommy could hear voices in the distance, and he felt a small rush knowing they were headed their way. His head fell back as he rolled his hips harder against hers, eyes closed as he fucked her.

"Stop," she said around a loud moan. "People…"

He continued thrusting frantically, not really giving a shit that people could possibly hear them.

"Tommy," she tried again, her hips shaking slightly against his, bruised from his forceful thrusts. "Please..."

"No," he grunted in her ear, reaching between them to stroke her clit hard. The fact that people were nearby only increased his desire to make her cum, and he flicked her sensitive nub until she writhed uncontrollably between him and the tree.

'_Yes,' _he thought, eyes glowing green as he felt her walls contract hard, signaling her climax. _'That's right…'_

"Ohgodohgod… T-Tommy," she stuttered, nails scratching him harshly, and his mouth found hers in the darkness. The three pedestrians walked by them, unable to hear Kim's muffled whimpers as she came only a few feet away.

Kim gripped his shoulders tightly, body seizing up as she exploded around him. He swallowed her cries of his name, loving the way she trembled in his arms. He frenched her deeply and his hips snapped upwards as his own release took him by surprise. He groaned her name against her lips, seed spilling into her.

Tommy slid out of her afterwards and she moaned softly. They stood quietly as they redressed themselves, neither making eye contact with the other.

Tommy concentrated on buttoning his jeans, pulling up the zipper. His legs felt weak, muscles aching from using them so much. He watched Kim's pink panties disappear back beneath her white skirt, and she brushed the wood chips out of her hair.

He grabbed her arm, turning her so her back was to him, and he brushed the wood from the back of her shirt. She smiled gratefully at him when he was done.

Looking at her, Tommy was captivated by how beautiful she looked. He didn't know if it was the sex, the moonlight or both that gave her such an alluring glow. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it quickly, choosing not to. He knew what he wanted to do, but he knew he shouldn't.

This was only sex, nothing more.

She looked at him with a vulnerability he hadn't seen before, and he walked closer to her without even realizing it.

He reached out, hands cupping her face as he kissed her. The kiss wasn't like the earlier ones they shared where he would fight her for dominance or bruise her lips from the roughness. This kiss was slow, sensual, and much gentler than anything he thought himself capable of. She responded in kind, lips swaying with his as if they were meant to do this their whole lives.

And just like that, he was back to being Tommy Oliver again, the guy with the bad attitude and a major crush on Kimberly Hart.

They parted for air, lips separated only by mere millimeters. She let out a shuddering breath against his lips, pulling back to look up at him in surprise.

He was sure he couldn't hide the affectionate look on his face no matter how hard he tried.

"What are we doing?" she asked finally.

"I-I don't know," he said, and he really didn't. "Zedd might kill me if he finds out what I've done."

'_Zedd will blow me to little green ranger bits if he ever finds out,'_ Tommy thought fearfully.

She bit her lip. "This will break Jason's heart."

The tender gaze he wore evaporated at the mention of Jason's name, replaced with the cold eyes of the green ranger.

She was bringing Jason up again, and it struck a nerve. _'She still doesn't give a damn about me,'_ he thought. _'Jason comes first again.'_

"Tommy…" she began.

He held up a hand, cutting her off. "Save it."

He stared into her eyes for some time before coming to a decision.

"I won't tell your precious Jason… for now," he added. "I've gotten a taste of you…" he licked his lips, eyes trailing down her body, "…and I'm getting more."

He stepped back, moonlight shining over his features, green energy swirling in his eyes.

"Don't even try to fool yourself into thinking that this…" he motioned between them, "…thing between us is over, pink ranger. Not by a long shot."

He teleported away from the park, landing in the backyard of his house, not caring if he was seen by the neighbors.

Tommy numbly grabbed his key from his pocket, opening the backdoor before going inside. He closed the door softly, pausing when he heard scurrying around the house.

'_What the hell?'_ he thought, peering into the darkness.

The sound of rushing wind hit his ears, and Tommy put up a hand to stop whatever was coming at him. A startled yelp rang out, and Tommy realized it was his mother.

He reached over, flicking the nearby light switch.

"Mom?"

Sandra sighed deeply when she saw her son. "Oh, it's you."

Tommy eyed the baseball bat he had stopped from bashing in his face. "What're you doing?"

"Your dad's having another one of his late nights at the office. I've been hearing things around the house so I thought I'd protect myself."

The green knew exactly what a _late night_ at the office meant.

She smiled. "I'm glad you're here."

Tommy forced a smile on his face. "Me too. You nearly took my head off, mom."

She laughed. "I thought you were a burglar!"

He snorted. "A burglar with a key?"

She grabbed the bat. "Shut up." Her face scrunched up in confusion. "I thought you were going to be at the park tonight with your friends."

Tommy ran a hand along his neck, memories of Kim wrapped around him against the tree flooding his head.

"Change of plans. Turns out I'm more tired than I realized. Went around to the back to sit and think for awhile."

"Is everything all right?" she asked, placing a hand on his arm in concern.

"I'm good. Just need to shower and head to bed." He kissed her on the cheek. "Night, mom."

He watched her head upstairs, bat in hand. When he was sure she couldn't see him, he growled in anger, eyes flashing green.

His father had the nerve to leave his mom home alone late at night, just so he could get his rocks off with one of his assistants at work?

'_You did the same,'_ reminded a voice in his head, causing his anger to deflate just as quickly as it grew. _'You left your mom to be with Kimberly.'_

'_What I did was different,'_ reasoned Tommy. _'I'm not married to a woman I vowed to commit to. Kim and I are…'_

He didn't know what to call them. They weren't together, and _technically_, he was helping her have an affair, but there wasn't anything wrong with that.

'_She's the one that's committed. I'm single.'_

He walked down the stairs to his room, pulling off his shirt and wifebeater as he made his way to the shower. Tommy unsnapped his jeans, yanking them and his boxers to the ground, kicking them off his feet.

He turned the water on, waiting for it to heat up as he looked in the mirror. Around the thick scars on his hips were tender red marks, signs of how hard he took Kimberly against the tree. He could see small crescent shape marks in his shoulder from where she dug her nails into his skin. His other shoulder had red marks that disappeared down his back from her scratches.

The meeting only proved that he and Kimberly had something uncontrollable between them. It was the second time in less than a week that they acted on their attraction to each other.

It only took one time to whet his appetite. Twice to be addicted.

The taste of her was still on his lips, and he could still feel her hands gripping his hair, her thighs trembling around his head as she climaxed against his lips.

He had never tasted anything better.

Tommy walked under the spray, cupping the water in hands to splash against his face.

He needed to be with her again.

'_But what about that kiss?'_ he thought in confusion.

It was an out-of-body experience for him, and he was still not convinced it had actually happened. He knew he fucked up royally by allowing intimacy to filter into sex. Never before had he kissed a girl like that.

'_So why now with Kimberly?'_

He focused on scrubbing his body down with the sponge, body covered in a thick layer of soap.

He didn't want to try and answer that question.

Not tonight.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's Note:** Here's chapter 6! Posting it now because it's going to be awhile before I can post again, so I decided to leave something for you guys while you wait. Classes are picking up again, and I need to pass, LOL._

_As always, please read and review (they keep me motivated)! All feedback is appreciated. Hope y'all like it! :)_

* * *

**Lunar Palace**

**Throne Room**

**The Moon**

**One week later, Wednesday **

**Local time, unknown**

"Master, the rangers have regrouped. Finster's monster is bound to lose," snarled Goldar.

Zedd sighed. "That's not surprising. Go down there and take care of them."

Tommy watched from the doorway as Goldar disappeared, heading down to Earth. Zedd stood on his balcony, looking down at the Earth with a bored expression.

"Master?"

Zedd turned around.

"Can I have a word with you?"

Zedd nodded. "Come, green ranger."

Tommy stood beside Lord Zedd, sighing heavily.

"What is the purpose of my training?" he asked.

The question had been bugging him ever since Zedd first took him from the fight against the rangers. He had been training for weeks now, and it didn't seem like it would be coming to an end anytime soon. To the green ranger, training was eating up time he could spend elsewhere. The older man knew how much Tommy wanted Jason dead.

"I already told you… you are preparing for the invasion."

Tommy sighed again. "I don't understand why all of my time needs to be devoted to that." He pointed to the Earth. "I can train and take care of the power rangers at the same time."

Zedd shook his head. "No, I need you in top form."

"For what?" he asked in exasperation.

"For when you lead one of the fleets into battle."

Tommy blinked hard. "For when I- wait… _what?_"

He had to have heard him wrong.

"You're very intelligent, Tommy, and you are motivated to destroy the power rangers. Scorpina is training you so that you will be able to head one of the armies during the invasion. I will be making you a general."

The green ranger stared at him blankly, realizing that he _did_ hear Zedd right the first time.

"You're not fucking with me… are you?"

Zedd laughed. "No, I am not. I believe under Scorpina's guidance, you will be more than capable for the job." He turned back to overlook the balcony.

The teen leaned against the railing, body numb at the news. It made sense now that he thought about it. Scorpina was training him to be nearly as good as her with weapons and fighting. But a general? That was a huge leap of faith on Zedd's part.

Zedd looked at the stunned teen. "I'm bored, green ranger. Tai Shun Ki?"

Tai Shun Ki was a strategy game from Phaedos, similar to chess, which Tommy had learned from his time at the Lunar Palace. He learned how to play during his time down in the monster room with Finster. The creature was terrible at making monsters, but he was an excellent Tai Shun Ki player.

Tommy followed behind his master, sitting at the nearby table already set up for play.

"Most of my time is spent playing this against Goldar and Scorpina," said Zedd. "It's an excellent game for mental exercise."

He moved his piece, and Tommy moved his next. "The greatest strategists of the universe are all excellent Tai Shun Ki players," Zedd noted. "You study your opponent, discover their weakness, and turn it against them. A fabulous game, really."

Tommy nodded, examining the board for his next move. "So were all those times that Finster asked me to play with him just another way to train me for the invasion, as well?"

Zedd gave a short chuckle. "Finster likes Tai Shun Ki; as an engineer, it is mentally stimulating for him. He wanted to play you because he needed a partner and fears you the least." Zedd made his move. "But I admit I did see the benefits of you playing the game."

Tommy studied the board before making his move. "Why me?"

"As my general?"

The teen nodded.

"I see a lot of promise in you, green ranger. You remind me of Scorpina when she was your age."

Tommy's eyes widened. "Really?"

Zedd nodded. "You're headstrong, intelligent, impulsive, passionate… I hate to see such potential be wasted."

"So you're trying to make me into the next Scorpina?" asked Tommy.

Zedd shook his head. "You could never be Scorpina. You are nowhere near as disciplined as she is. If I had gotten to you at an earlier age, perhaps, but you are already set in your ways." The being played his turn.

"And unlike Scorpina, you go for what you want. Scorpina, despite her abilities, operates within certain rules. She is disciplined to the core, and there are certain lines she won't cross. That keeps her powerless."

The teen raised an eyebrow. _'Powerless and Scorpina do not go together.'_

He understood what the emperor was trying to tell him, but he was having a hard time believing it. Scorpina was so… untouchable, so skilled; to be compared to her was unthinkable to him. He knew he was good, but he wasn't _that _good.

And here was Lord Zedd telling him he could be more powerful than her.

'_God… I couldn't imagine something like that.'_

The green ranger made his next move. "You know I won't hesitate to cross those lines."

Kimberly immediately came to mind.

"Precisely," said Zedd. "You aren't predictable or compelled to follow someone else's rules. That makes you dangerous and a threat to those who aren't free to do as they wish."

Zedd paused, visor flashing red briefly. "And it also gives you that edge others desire… the allure that will have many wanting to follow you simply because you choose to shape your own destiny. In that sense, you are more like I was in my youth."

The teen was floored by the comparison, unsure how to respond.

Tommy watched Zedd capture one of his pieces. "I never said I wanted to be a general; I just want to get rid of Jason. I'm not power hungry… you are."

He was clear with Zedd on what he wanted. Tommy had no desire to lead an army into battle. The training was unnecessary though useful; he just wanted to fight.

"Power comes in more forms than just possession. You are just as ambitious as I am, Tommy, you only channel it differently," Zedd pointed out. "My ambition is to rule everything within my reach. Yours is to control."

Tommy shifted under Zedd's gaze.

"I've seen you, green ranger. When you fight, you need to be in control of everything. When you're not, you become angry and have to destroy whatever is in your way. I can tell you are most satisfied when you are in total control. You even asked that you remain in control of yourself as my green ranger, did you not?"

The teen said nothing, capturing one of Zedd's pieces.

"Isn't that what also bothered you when you were captured?" he asked. "Besides the obvious that the red ranger abandoned you… You were not in control of what happened to you; it's why you still hate Goldar for the torture you endured."

Tommy looked up at Zedd, eyes green with anger. "What is your point?" asked Tommy tightly, tiring of the conversation.

"I can teach you the correct way to channel your anger, to handle situations so that you _always_ get what you want. Right now, you are no longer reserved about taking it, but that doesn't ensure you will always get it. You need discipline and a plan of attack, and I can provide that training for you. In exchange, you become my general."

Zedd clasped his hands together, elbows resting on the table. "You'll get what you want and so much more."

Tommy sat silently, hand hovering over his piece. He had to admit, getting what he wanted was incredibly gratifying, and he loved the knowledge that everything could come so easily to him. Hurting Jason… getting Kimberly…

'_If Zedd doesn't kill me first.'_

But did he really want to be a _general_ for the Dark Empire? The responsibilities tied to that title made him somewhat uncomfortable.

He bit his lip, gripping the Tai Shun Ki piece tight in his hand. "What else would I need to learn?"

* * *

**Youth Center**

**Main Room**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**Friday, 4:22 PM**

Tommy sat at his usual table in the Youth Center, eyes fixated on Kim's limber form on the balance beam. She was in the middle of a handstand, legs spread in a perfect split. Billy stood off to the side, spotting the pink ranger.

Jason was on the other side of the center, teaching his beginner's class in karate.

Tommy watched Kim jump down from the beam and grab her water bottle from Billy. As if she could feel his gaze on her, she turned, locking eyes with him. He winked at her, licking his lips slowly and she flushed red. The blue ranger looked down at her in confusion, and Tommy snorted as he took a sip from his smoothie.

"Enjoying the view?" he heard someone say.

Tommy looked up, groaning when he saw it was Zack.

"It's lovely," he replied in a sickeningly sweet tone.

The black ranger slid into the seat next to him, and Tommy's jaw clenched in irritation. Kim and Billy were looking in their direction, and he could see the slight panic in Kim's face before she turned around.

"Leave her alone, man. I've told you this before," warned Zack.

Tommy scowled. "Kim's a big girl. I don't think she needs you fighting her battles for her, crip." He took another sip of his drink. "And besides, there's nothing wrong with looking. Free country and all."

"That's all you better do. If you touch her, you're dead," he hissed.

The green ranger resisted the urge to laugh hysterically. If they were going to kill him for just touching the pink ranger, he could only imagine what they would do if they found out what he's been doing to her these last few weeks.

"I assure you, although you can't see it, I'm positively terrified at the moment," Tommy said with a smirk.

"You're wasting your time if you think she's going to leave you for Jason," said Zack confidently.

The green ranger smiled, crossing his arms as he focused on the black ranger. "Really, now?"

Zack nodded. "Kim knows the only reason you'd even come after her is to stick it to Jason. She wouldn't do anything to hurt him."

Tommy grabbed his drink, hiding his smirk as he took a long sip. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, and she would never go for you. You're everything she doesn't want in a man," said Zack.

"And you know this how?" Tommy asked irritably, quickly growing tired of the conversation.

"Because you're everything Jason isn't," said Zack nastily. "You're the worst type of person, and Kim would never fall for you."

Zack pointed over to where the pink ranger stood. "You see that?"

Tommy's gaze turned to Kim, who was now standing with Jason. "Those two are meant for each other. Jason treats Kim like a queen, not a prize to be won. He's a good guy that's not psychotic, unlike you. Pursuing her would be a waste of time."

Tommy's eyes narrowed as he watched them, and he felt his jaw clench involuntarily. Jason's arms were wrapped tightly around Kim's waist, his face buried into her neck. Kim was smiling brightly, laughing at something he was saying to her.

The green ranger's fist clenched tightly beneath the table, and the urge to go over and break Jason's fingers was overwhelming.

He had been having that urge every time he saw the two together lately.

"He loves her, and she loves him. Nothing you do can change that," said Zack fiercely.

Kim turned in Jason's arms, and Tommy watched as the red ranger kissed her on the lips - to the amusement of Billy and others around them.

Tommy ignored the burning sensation in the pit of his stomach, dark eyes trailing back to the black ranger's face.

"Your pink ranger has nothing of interest to me, though you do bring up a wonderful idea." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Use the pink ranger to get back at Jason."

Tommy smiled, feral glint in his eye. "I wonder how loud I can make her scream."

'_But I already know that,'_ he added mentally.

The green ranger found himself lifted into the air, his shirt fisted in Zack's hands. He laughed. "I didn't know you could move so fast with a bad leg. How'd you manage that?"

Zack pulled him closer. "Fuck you."

The sound of approaching steps hit Tommy's ears, and he found himself surrounded by the rest of Zack's team.

"Zack, let him go," said Trini. "We don't want Ernie to get upset."

"Yeah, Zack, let me go," said Tommy with an amused grin.

"Zack." Tommy rolled his eyes at Jason's attempt at an authoritative tone. "This isn't how we do things. You're better than that."

Zack let go of Tommy, and the green ranger straightened his shirt out slowly.

"What happened here?" asked Jason.

Tommy shrugged. "Ask Zack. He attacked me."

Zack turned to the red ranger. "Watch him." He pointed at Tommy. "He's planning something, Jase, and I know it involves Kim."

And once again, Tommy found himself lifted up by his shirt, this time by Jason.

"Want to explain yourself?" hissed the red ranger.

"Not really." Tommy grabbed onto Jason's wrists tightly, eyes flashing green. "But I _suggest_ you let go of me."

"Jason," said Kim softly, and she placed a hand on his bicep. "Let him go."

She tightened her grip on his arm when he didn't drop Tommy. "Please."

Tommy could see the conflicting emotions in Jason's face as he listened to her words, and he slowly felt Jason's grip loosen.

The long-haired teen shot a glare at the leader of the power rangers. "And they say _I'm_ the one with issues? Jackass."

He glanced briefly at Kim, ignoring the warning glance she sent his way.

"You stay away from her, Tommy. She has nothing to do with any of this."

"Doesn't she?" challenged the green ranger, wanting to get a rise out of Jason.

"You do anything to her, and it will be the last thing you do," threatened the red ranger.

Tommy gave a nasty grin. "I'll keep that in mind the next time I f–"

The fearful look in Kim's eyes made him hold his tongue.

"The next time I find her alone," he finished, mentally berating himself for not saying what he wanted.

Jason's eyes widened briefly before his nostrils flared.

Kim looked between them. "Jase?"

The red ranger glanced down at Kim, and Tommy took note of the forced smile on his face. "I'm good. Come on guys, let's go," said Jason.

Tommy glared angrily at the red ranger's back, watching as Billy, Trini and Zack followed behind.

Kim remained by him. "You okay?" she asked, hand on his shoulder.

His muscles bunched beneath her fingers at her touch and he moved his hand to cover hers.

"Thank you," she murmured softly.

"I think…" He looked past her, noticing the impatient glare Jason sent their way. "I think your _boyfriend_ is waiting for you."

She kept her back to Jason, brown eyes staring sadly into his as her thumb gently brushed his knuckles. She gave Tommy's hand a tight squeeze before turning, heading once again to Jason's side.

Tommy's eyes locked with Jason's, and he noticed the red ranger trying to shield Kim from his view. He understood the teen's message loud and clear.

She's mine.

'_Too bad I've already had her,'_ thought Tommy smugly.

The green ranger scowled when he saw them leave, Kim's hand locked firmly with Jason's. He didn't know why he was reacting this way. Kim was always with Jason and always would be… it wasn't as if he expected two moments of passionate sex to change anything.

Did he?

The green ranger grabbed a cup of water from the Juice Bar, downing it quickly before requesting another.

Zack's words affected him more than he wanted to admit, and it irritated him that the black ranger was able to get to him like that. Tommy knew how Kim felt about Jason; he knew she would always love him and that she meant the world to the red ranger. That's what made it all the more satisfying when he took her the first time. It didn't make her his anymore than it made him hers. He was still the green ranger and she was still Jason's girlfriend.

So why did seeing Jason's hands on her body make him want to gut him with his Dragon dagger?

He drank his second glass of water, index finger playing with the rim of the empty cup.

His eyes flashed green when he thought back on Jason. Zedd told Tommy to lay low, conserve his energy until the invasion. But the mere sight of Jason was enough to enrage him these days. Before, he could at least be somewhat civil… but ever since sleeping with Kim, the red ranger being within a five foot radius of the pink ranger was enough to set him off. He didn't like him looking at her, breathing near her, _touching _her…

"You all right, Tommy?" asked Ernie when he heard the teen growl.

Tommy looked up at the portly man. "Just fine, Ernie," he replied curtly.

Ernie nodded, although Tommy noticed the Youth Center owner kept a noticeable distance between the two of them.

The look in Jason's eyes when Kim's name was brought up was the same look he had when he brought the red ranger back to the Lunar Palace. The same anger, mistrust…

_You know why_.

That's what Jason said to him in the palace when he asked why he didn't save him from Rita.

'_What the hell did that even mean?'_ he asked himself.

A thought occurred to him. _'Was he talking about Kimberly?'_ he wondered. Up until his capture, the only thing Tommy had done that could possibly hurt Jason was have a crush on his girlfriend, and it wasn't as if he could control how he felt.

Tommy shook his head. There was no way Jason would leave him to be tortured just for liking Kimberly. Jason was a dick, but he wasn't _that_ cruel. It didn't match with the type of person he was.

'_But leaving me in the first place was out of character,' _he reminded himself. _'So I guess anything's possible with that guy.'_

Jason's reason for leaving him, regardless of what it was, would never be justification for what he went through as Rita's prisoner, but Tommy needed to know what went wrong. They had been best friends, almost brothers at one point. He couldn't help but wonder what he did to make Jason hate him enough to leave him to die.

And Tommy knew wouldn't be satisfied until he knew the truth.

* * *

**Oliver Residence**

**Dining Room**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**6:41 PM**

The green ranger stabbed angrily at his steak.

'_Stupid son of a bitch.' _He hated that Zack had gotten to him earlier that day. Tommy angrily shoved the piece of steak into his mouth before forking several potatoes.

"You okay, son?"

The teen paused, eyeing his father. "Just peachy," he muttered before swallowing the potatoes.

Frank shared a look with Sandra before clearing his throat. "You sure seem hungry."

Tommy rolled his eyes. _'Why does he even try anymore?'_

While Tommy's relationship with his mother was relatively normal, his relationship with his father had been rapidly deteriorating since he first became the green ranger.

Tommy's kidnapping had happened on his way from school as he was heading to the Youth Center to meet up with Jason and the others. He was stopped by Goldar and some putties, who struck him with an energy beam, taking him back to the Lunar Palace.

Tommy was missing for a total three weeks. During the few moments of the day when Goldar would take him out of the cage for "fresh air," he would let the teen see what was happening back on Earth.

His mother's reaction didn't surprise him. Sandra had been in near hysterics when she found out her son was missing. He could still remember how she cried silently as she sat in the police station every day, waiting for information on her son's whereabouts.

And Frank...

Tommy's grip tightened around his fork.

He remembered the pain of finding out his father was away on a "business trip" for most of his disappearance. While Sandra was crying her eyes out, Frank was camping out at the office, telling his wife he needed to keep busy in order to deal with Tommy going missing.

'_Yeah, you were real busy, weren't you?'_ Tommy thought snidely as he shoveled the food into his mouth.

It sickened the green ranger to find out his father was using his disappearance as an excuse to cheat on his mother. The teen could remember vividly how Goldar laughed unabashedly as his respect for his father crumbled before his very eyes. The teen had always looked up to his dad as somewhat of a hero, and it was painful to have that image shattered.

The feeling was compounded when he listened to the conversations between his father and the busty brunette assistant at his firm. It angered him when he heard his dad blame his mother for his cheating, claiming that her focus on Tommy and lack of attention drove him into Jean's or Janice's or whoever-she-was' arms.

Tommy always tried to leave, but Goldar held him down, forcing the boy to see what kind of man his father truly was.

When Tommy appeared back on Earth, clothes tattered and body horribly bruised, he only had eyes for his mother. She cried into his chest when he showed up on the front porch, thanking God that her son came back to her. He told her the power rangers had rescued him when they realized he had been captured.

At least, that's what he _wished_ had happened. The truth was that he had accepted the sixth power coin, and Rita teleported him back to Earth at his request – he wanted to let his mother know he was all right.

His father had acted excited as well, pulling Tommy into a stiff hug.

The teen couldn't even fake being happy to see his father. He despised him.

"Do you want some more food, Tommy?" asked his mother.

The teen swallowed the food in his mouth, chasing it down with a glass of water.

"I'm good, mom. Thanks, though."

She smiled in his direction, turning back to her own plate.

"So… how's school?" asked Frank.

Tommy's eyes narrowed. "Fine. How's work?"

Frank smiled. "Work was good today. Secured a new client."

Sandra smiled. "Very nice, honey."

Tommy held his cup in his hand, eyes fixed on the melting ice cubes inside. "How's your assistant, dad?"

Frank paused as he cut his meat. "You know I have several assistants, Tommy. Have to be a little more specific."

"The brunette… with the big tits and killer ass."

A loud clang sounded in the room, and Tommy's eyes flashed green when Frank choked on his food.

"Tommy!" admonished Sandra. "You don't speak like that."

The green ranger shrugged. "Sorry. I was just trying to say she's attractive."

He watched his father carefully. "I believe you're talking about Janet… she's fine."

Tommy smiled. "Janet… right, that's her name. Beautiful woman, wouldn't you agree?"

His father nodded, eyes fixated on his plate. "She's very pretty… but she's not a looker like your mom."

The teen stared hard at his father. "No. She isn't."

Frank looked up when he noticed the hard edge to his son's tone and the atmosphere became tense.

Tommy pushed away his plate, wiping his face and hands with his napkin. "I'm done."

He stood, walking around the table to kiss his mom on the cheek. "Great dinner, mom."

She smiled up at him as he headed to the kitchen to dump his plate.

"Where are you going now?" asked his father when he noticed Tommy heading out of the dining room.

The green ranger couldn't stomach another second being in the same room as his father.

"Out."

"Out where?" called Frank loudly.

Tommy's only response was a slamming door.

* * *

**Lunar Palace**

**Lord Zedd's Study**

**The Moon**

**Local time, unknown**

"And this one?"

Tommy stared at the image. "Commander Sprocket of the Machine Empire. He oversees the southwest region of the Dark Empire."

Lord Zedd nodded. "And him?"

"Commander Maligore of Muranthias. His right-hand officer is General Divatox of the M51 galaxy, and he is the overseer of the northeast sector."

"Excellent."

Tommy's training had shifted since he agreed to become Lord Zedd's general, focusing more on the organization of the empire. He still met with Scorpina for weapons training and fine-tuning his fighting techniques, but more and more of his time was dedicated to learning about the Dark Empire.

It was almost like taking another history class for the green ranger, except the material was infinitely more stimulating and he was motivated to learn more on his own. His head was crammed with information on a daily basis, and Lord Zedd quizzed him regularly to test him. By now, he was familiar with all commanders, generals, marshals, and ambassadors of the Dark Empire. He learned there were hundreds of captains, colonels, and lieutenants, and each had a specific role in how the Empire was run.

Tommy learned that Zedd's empire consisted of over thirty planets, spanning six galaxies, and that he ruled over more than twelve million, including more than 300 species.

The green ranger had never seen a system as complex and efficient as what Zedd had created, and he was thoroughly impressed by the older man's accomplishments.

"Well done, green ranger," said Zedd in a pleased tone. "Tomorrow, we will focus on the offensive systems of the Dark Empire. I will explain to you the artillery we use in battle."

Tommy nodded. "Cool."

The green ranger stood from his seat, stretching his long limbs as he looked around the large room. Lord Zedd's study was filled with books from all over the universe, and Tommy was intrigued by what he could learn from them. He walked over to one with gold markings on its spine he couldn't understand.

Pulling it off the shelf, Tommy presented it to him. "What's this say?"

"This is a book that I… acquired from my time on the planet Triforia. In your language, it can be roughly translated to mean _Finding Alternative Strategies_. The author discusses how intractable problems can only be resolved by stepping beyond conventional solutions," the emperor explained.

"Sounds pretty interesting," said the teen.

"It is a fascinating book, to say the least. Very enlightening," said the older man.

Tommy flipped open the book, intrigued by the title. "Can you teach me Triforian? I wanna read this." He was completely engrossed with the book in his hands.

"If that is what you would like."

Tommy ran a finger along the text. "Actually, can you teach me any other languages, too? If I'm going to be a general, I need to be able to speak to my soldiers, right?"

The green ranger had begun to warm up to the idea of leading soldiers into battle. He was still nervous as hell about actually doing it, but the training with Scorpina and Zedd made him feel a lot more comfortable with the idea.

And deep down, he was even excited.

"I know 42 languages, green ranger." Tommy's eyes widened, causing Zedd to laugh. "Many of them are very similar, so I will only teach you the basics of the most commonly-used languages."

The teen set the book back on the shelf before crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't know how you do it," he whispered.

"Do what?" asked Zedd as he sat down in one of the chairs.

Tommy put his hands up. "All of this. This is crazy to me. You're like the most powerful man in the universe, and you don't even seem excited about it. I'd be going nuts."

Zedd shook his head. "You are young, Tommy. When I first became Emperor, I did not have all that you see. I ruled but three planets and had only a small army."

Tommy sat down, listening intently to his master's words.

"I never had the opportunity to really revel in what I had until I was much older, centuries after starting on this journey. Everything I have, I fought for. You see these books and think of them as a library."

Zedd grabbed one off the shelf. "I see them, and I think of how each came to be in my possession… through war."

Tommy stared at Lord Zedd for some time. "It must be nice… having all of this. The power, the resources…"

"The control," supplied Lord Zedd in a strange tone. "It is nice to think how all of this is mine, everything at my beck and call."

"Yeah," whispered Tommy.

The green ranger greatly admired the man before him. Zedd was right; not many people went for what they wanted, for what made them happy. Tommy held a lot of respect for Lord Zedd for being courageous enough to take what he felt was his, not letting the baseless rules of society and propriety keep him from achieving his goals.

He only wished he could be as successful as the powerful emperor someday.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's Note:** After a totally hellish week, I am back...sorta. This is a super short update, but it's all I can put up for now. Classes are kicking my ass :(. __I'll try to update again as soon as I can._

_On that note, please read and review. __I get a kick out of the reviews you guys leave, and I find your responses to Tommy and the fic very interesting. _All feedback is appreciated. 

* * *

**Oliver Residence**

**Tommy's Room**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**Saturday, 5:04 PM**

"…454…455…456…457…"

Sweat dripped down Tommy's body as he counted off, determined to execute 500 pushups. He was shirtless, legs crossed, hair tied back into a strict ponytail. His silver chain hung around his neck, Libra pendant swaying rhythmically as his body moved.

Naughty by Nature's "Wickedest Man Alive" was blasting loudly from his boombox, and the song was pushing him to work harder.

"_The wickedest man alive, I am what I am and I'm damn good to be a no good…"_

His mind was once again on Kimberly, who seemed to be invading his thoughts lately. And strangely enough, he wasn't thinking about the sex they had in Angel Grove Park last week.

Not that it wasn't good…it was incredible.

His mind was still on that damn kiss they shared afterwards. He still had no idea what possessed him to kiss her like that. His kisses were usually harsh, rough, frantic... That kiss was slow, hot, and tender.

The way she looked at him in the moonlight, so open and caring…it did something to him he couldn't put into words.

And it made him feel strange.

"…479…480…481…"

And then his mind drifted to yesterday, when he saw her with Jason. Jealousy was not something Tommy was used to feeling, and it bothered him that he was experiencing it now.

He stood, limbs burning after completing his 500th pushup. Tommy grabbed his towel off the floor, wiping his body down carefully. He dried off his face, blinking in surprise when he saw Kim standing at the top of the staircase.

"Your mom let me in," she offered as an explanation.

He nodded. "Jason knows you're here?"

"What do you think?"She made her way down the staircase, stopping when she stood in front of him. "Can we talk?"

He snorted. "Every time we talk, you end up hitting me. I'd rather not."

Her lips curled into a small smile. "I promise I won't hit you, if you promise not to be an asshole."

He raised an eyebrow. "Don't think that's possible, but okay." He motioned to her."Talk."

She cleared her throat. "We've been together twice now…and I think we need to discuss what's going on between us," she said.

"I don't think there's anything to discuss," he shrugged. "It was just sex."

Kim glared at him. "You were never a good liar, Tommy, and you still suck at it."

He hated that she could read him so well.

"This can't _be _anymore than sex, Kim. We're on opposite sides. You're the good ranger, I'm the evil one," he reminded her.

"Don't you think I know that?" she said forcefully. "I've been trying to deny what's going on between us because of that, not to mention Jason –"

He scoffed, cutting her off. "Can you _ever_ keep his name out of your fucking mouth?"

She raised an eyebrow. "He's my boyfriend, Tommy. He's going to come up."

He scowled. "Didn't come up when I had you against that tree."

He saw the flash of anger in her eyes, and his expression softened. "Sorry."

He wasn't sorry at all.

She shook her head. "No, you're absolutely right. When we…" She took a shuddering breath. "When you and I were together, Jason was the last thing on my mind." She grabbed his hand softly in hers. "All I was thinking about was you."

Warmth spread through Tommy from her words and her touch, happy that she finally admitted the truth. He watched as she moved closer to him, only a few inches between them.

"I think…I _know_ I still have feelings for you, Tommy. And I know you won't admit it, but part of what makes you want me is your feelings from when you were good." She traced his jaw with her fingertips.

"Deep down, you still want to be with me."

And there was that strange feeling again…his heart beat faster in his chest.

He stared into her eyes for several seconds before pulling away. "How I feel is irrelevant."

This was the truth. In the grand scheme of things, how Tommy or Kim felt didn't matter. The two of them would never work.

He turned so his back was to her. "You need to go."

She shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere until we're done talking."

"We _are _done talking," he said tersely.

She glared at him. Tommy let out a frustrated breath, taking a seat on his leather couch.

"What do you want from me, Kim?" he asked tiredly.

"The truth," she said simply.

"The truth," he repeated slowly. "All right, fine. The truth is that I _might _feel something for you that I can't. The truth is that if Lord Zedd finds out that we've been together, I'm a dead man."

He sighed, hands flexing as he stared down at the ground. "And the truth is that at the end of the day, I'm your enemy. And you're still with Jason."

"Now you're the one bringing him up," she said.

"You said it yourself…he's always going to come up. No matter how you may feel about me, he always comes first." He glared. "You already proved that once before."

Kim walked over to him slowly, and Tommy kept himself from making eye contact. "I never wanted to hurt you, Tommy. You can't even begin to understand how much I care about you. It's just…I had to think about Jason and –"

He growled angrily. "Did you _ever _once think about me? About what I wanted? What I needed?" His fists clenched. "It's always about Jason with you. Do you really love him that much that it was so easy for you to throw me to the side?" he asked.

She looked as if he had slapped her. "It's not like that," she argued.

"Bullshit. It's _exactly_ like that."

Tommy ran his hands tiredly over his face, sagging back against the couch. He didn't want to have this conversation with Kimberly. She was making him feel and think about things from another lifetime, things he wanted to keep buried.

He felt a hand cover his own, and it tugged insistently.

"Stop," he said softly.

He looked up at her when she kept tugging, giving in and standing when he realized she would not stop until he got up.

She moved so that their chests touched, and she grabbed his face in her hands. He wrapped his around her waist.

He was doing a horrible job of keeping her away.

"Why do you hate Jason so much?" she asked.

Tommy didn't respond, choosing instead to grab her left hand in his. He guided her index finger along his face, and she gasped when she felt his scar. He then moved her hand to his shoulder, tracing the pale scar from his shoulder blade to his navel, then further down to the scars on his hips.

"How did you get these?" she asked in wonder.

"You didn't think I was having a party up at the Lunar Palace while I was kidnapped, did you?"

As she ran her hands over him, he smiled ruefully. "Goldar sliced me up good, huh?"

Her hand went back to trace the scar over his eye. "I never noticed this one before."

"It's the first one I got," he said softly, grabbing her hand gently. "And I got it because of Jason."

She frowned. "You said it yourself; Goldar is the one responsible, not Jason."

"Goldar cut me, but it might as well have been Jason holding the blade," he said.

"Jason was a wreck while you were kidnapped. He wanted to _save _you," she insisted.

His grip around her waist tightened. "It doesn't matter what he wanted to do. _He left me_. There's nothing left to say about it."

She looked like she was about to argue with him, so he pulled her tighter to him, making her gasp.

"I don't want to talk about Jason anymore," he said huskily.

Her eyes darkened visibly in response to his tone. Her fingers brushed along his scar again before moving to his hair, pulling him down for a kiss.

He kissed her back hard, wrapping his arms around her back and pulling her closer. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and her hold tightened when he gripped her ass, lifting her so that she could wrap her legs around his waist. He walked to the back of the basement, lowering her carefully to his bed, lips latching onto her neck.

She rolled them over, straddling his waist as she pulled back from him, yanking her dress over her head. His eyes darkened as she sat above him in a black bra and matching panties, and he ran his hands up her smooth thighs.

The music in the background changed to "O.P.P." by Naughty by Nature, and Tommy almost laughed at how fitting the song was for the occasion.

He sat up, hands finding the hooks of her bra and undoing them quickly. His mouth latched onto her left breast immediately, and her felt her hands dig into his scalp in pleasure. His right hand traced down her stomach to her sex, and he rubbed her clit gently with his middle finger.

She bucked against him, grinding herself against his hand. He moved to her other breast, delighting in her soft cries above him as he stroked the sensitive bud harder. Tommy could feel his erection straining hard against his jeans from how wet she was, and he ripped off her panties with his other hand in his eagerness.

He found himself flat on his back suddenly, not at all prepared for Kim to shove him backwards. She grabbed his hands, forcing them back onto the bed.

"Don't move."

Tommy watched as her hands trailed down his pecs, over his toned abdomen to the waistband of his jeans. She unsnapped the button, pulling down the zipper slowly, and he sighed as the discomforting pressure on his cock went away.

Her small hand slipped inside his boxers, and his eyes closed when she stroked him several times. Her hold wasn't too tight or too loose, and he found himself thrusting against her hand involuntarily.

He frowned when she removed her hand, lifting his hips when she tugged on his jeans. He helped her pull them off and kicked them onto the floor. He felt the cool air on his hot length, and he shivered slightly.

Kim crawled over him, hands resting on either side of his head as she positioned herself over him. Tommy clenched the blue sheets tightly as he slipped inside of her inch by agonizing inch, encased in her wet heat.

"Oh god," he gasped, eyes closed from the sensation.

He groaned softly as she rolled her hips over his, thrusting up to match her pace. She braced her hands on his stomach, nails scratching his skin lightly as she rode him roughly. His hands made their way to her thighs, trailing upwards to grab her ass.

"I told you not to move," she grunted out, breasts bouncing in a way that made him want to bite them.

He squeezed the firm flesh of her ass before holding onto her hips. "You knew I wouldn't listen."

She moved faster on him, and he smiled when he felt her walls contract around him.

"Already?" he asked arrogantly.

"Shut up," she moaned, nails digging into his stomach. "Fuck…you feel so good…"

Tommy gripped her hips hard, slamming her down on him roughly so that she was bouncing on his cock. He watched her head fall back, mouth open wide as she cried out.

"Yes….ohgod…just like that," she pleaded.

Tommy felt his balls tighten and he rolled his hips harder against hers. "Shit…"

He felt her nails sink into his skin, and the mixture of pleasure and pain made him arch off the bed. Tommy sat up, pressing hot kisses to her neck and shoulder as he slammed her harder down on him. The sudden shout of his name and her subsequent shuddering in his arms made him smile in the crook of her neck.

Her climax triggered his, and he gasped her name as his orgasm was wrenched from him. He pumped hard into her a few times before coming to rest, winded from how powerful his release was.

The two fell to the bed tiredly, and Kim rolled off of him onto her back. His eyes were closed, a content smile on his face. He tiredly pulled the sheets over them. His chain felt cool against his hot, sweaty skin.

"I…am _damn_ good," he said between heavy breaths.

He heard her laugh breathlessly beside him. "Cocky, aren't we?"

He turned to look at her, wagging his eyebrows. "Incredibly."He grinned. "Admit it; I'm the best you've ever had."

Kim rolled her eyes. "The best out of two…congratulations," she said sarcastically. "I only slept with Jason once, so I can't even really compare."

He turned to her with amused eyes. "You've slept with me three times now…and only once with your actual boyfriend of two years?"

Kim rolled onto her side, biting her lip gently as she looked up at him. "Seems that way."

"Why?" he asked curiously.

She looked hesitant to answer. "For the same reason you keep coming after me even though I've hurt you…can't help how I feel."

He said nothing, letting her words sink into his head. Kimberly was right; whatever he felt for her, it was something he couldn't fight. Being evil, hating the power rangers, hating her for the pain she caused him…none of that could keep him away from her. She was in his blood.

She crawled over to him, resting her head on his chest while another arm wrapped around his waist. He brought his hand down to rest against her back, his thumb making small circles into her flesh.

Tommy was smart enough to realize that things could only get worse from here. Although neither could define what exactly they felt, the fact that they admitted that they felt something for each other put them in a precarious position.

The repercussions went beyond simply breaking Jason's heart, not that he really considered that a bad thing. Tommy knew he was committing treason in Zedd's eyes, and it was almost certain that Kim would suffer for both hurting Jason and sleeping with the enemy.

On top of that, there was also the very real possibility that, despite her feelings for him, he could once again be badly burned by Kim in favor of Jason.

He wished he could trust her.

The green ranger sighed, the situation weighing heavily on his mind. He could hear Kim's deep even breaths, and realized she had fallen asleep beside him.

'_When did things get so complicated?'_ he thought to himself as he stared down at her.

His life was slowly beginning to unravel…and he wasn't sure he could stop it.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's Note:** Here's chapter 8. Please read and review! Feedback is greatly appreciated. :)_

* * *

**Lunar Palace**

**Training Room**

**The Moon**

**Two weeks later, Tuesday**

**Local time, unknown**

"So what am I learning today?" asked Tommy. He was standing in a faded green t-shirt and gray sweatpants, hair tied back in a tight ponytail.

"There's nothing left for you to learn. I've taught you everything you need to know."

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "Really? I thought there would be more."

Scorpina gave a half smile. "It is like your karate that you speak of. You learn a skill, but it is practice and dedication that sharpens it."

He considered this. "That's true. So I just have to keep practicing what you've taught me in order to get better."

"Precisely," she said.

"Then can we spar?" he asked, grabbing the bo staff off the wall. "I want to practice more with the staff."

Scorpina smiled, picking up her swords off the ground. "As you wish."

The two bowed to each other, and Tommy came at Scorpina fiercely. He liked the staff the most of the weapons he had been trained in, loving the weight and feel of it in his hands. It was easy to move around his body and was good for both defensive and offensive moves.

He blocked her swords coming down on him with the staff, quickly shooting a blast of green energy at her chest. Scorpina stumbled back, and the green ranger grinned.

"Good," she said. "You're combining your offense and defense. Again."

Tommy twirled his staff quickly before running at her, only to stop when the door to the room opened. Goldar stood in the doorway.

"Zedd wishes to meet with you," he growled.

Scorpina nodded, bowing to Tommy as a sign that their match was over before sheathing her swords. He watched her walk quickly out of the room. Tommy knew if Zedd was calling Scorpina, it had to do with the Dark Empire.

Goldar stared at him as if he were stupid. "You, too, pup."

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

The gold plated warrior nodded. "Seems it's your lucky day."

Tommy dropped his staff, following behind Goldar as they headed to Lord Zedd's throne room.

"What's he want me for?" asked the teen.

"How would I know?" asked Goldar irritably. "Our master has yet to realize how much of a nuisance you are. I can't imagine why he wants you around for anything."

The two entered Zedd's throne room, and Tommy was surprised to see several faces looking back at him from floating screens.

"Ah, there you are, Tommy," said Zedd as he waved the teen over to the open spot next to him. "Sit."

Tommy sat in the seat beside Lord Zedd and looked curiously at the faces around him. Scorpina and Goldar sat on Zedd's other side; across from them were the faces of several hideous beasts that the teen had only seen from his lessons with the emperor.

"We can now begin the meeting of the Dark Empire War Council," said Zedd.

Tommy's eyes bugged slightly. _'War council?'_ He had only heard stories about it, from what Scorpina would tell him in their off time between training. She explained to him that any major battle decisions were brought before the council to be planned out. The war council consisted of the best warriors and tacticians of the Dark Empire.

'_Why did he want me here?'_ Tommy thought curiously. _'Oh right… General Oliver...'_

"Lord Zedd, may I begin by reiterating that I do not believe invading the Earth is the best course of action," said one of them.

"And why not?" asked Zedd.

"Zordon of Eltar and his team of power rangers still exist on the planet, do they not? It would be unwise to invade while they still pose a threat."

"We are currently creating a plan to be rid of Zordon," said Lord Zedd. "Zordon will not pose a threat for much longer."

"And how do you know this?" asked another nameless face.

"Zordon will be recharging soon, given that a century has passed since he last charged and it happened around this time. This will take him out of commission; if we can get to him while he is defenseless, we can take control," said Goldar.

"And you have access to Zordon?" asked one skeptically.

"Access to Zordon's Command Center requires a power coin to get in. Only his power rangers can get inside," Scorpina answered.

"Precisely," said the first with a smug look. "This invasion cannot happen."

Tommy looked around, the wheels turning in his head. "Yes, it can."

All eyes turned to him, and he suddenly felt extremely self-conscious.

"Who is the child? A slave?" asked one of the generals.

Tommy scowled. "I'm not a child. I am Thomas Oliver of Earth, and I am Lord Zedd's green ranger."

The silence in the room was deafening.

"Scorpina says you have to be a power ranger to get into the Command Center." He reached into his pocket, pulling out the small coin.

"I may not be one of Zordon's rangers, but I should be able to get inside just like they can. I can take care of Zordon from the inside, removing him from the equation. If we take away Zordon, the power rangers would be without a mentor and without direction."

"Leaving them vulnerable to us," finished Zedd. Tommy felt the older man's hand clasp his shoulder firmly.

He took it to mean he did a good job.

"You trust this boy to do this? Zordon of Eltar is a powerful wizard, sir. I am not convinced your… ranger can handle this task."

'_You ugly piece of shit,'_ Tommy thought. _'Who the hell are you to question me?'_

Zedd's grip tightened on Tommy's shoulder, and the teen took it as a sign to calm down.

"My green ranger is more powerful than you realize, Rygog. I have no doubt he can take care of Zordon while he is doing his centurial recharge." Zedd glared at the general, glowing slightly.

"Any more questions?"

Hearing none, Zedd nodded. "Now, I want a fleet from each colony sent to Earth immediately. Zordon and his power rangers will be taken care of on our end. The invasion will go as scheduled."

Tommy listened to the generals discuss the logistics of gathering their fleets with child-like curiosity. They were bringing in nearly 500,000 foot soldiers and 150 warships.

'_This invasion will be massive.'_

"Tommy," said Lord Zedd, and Tommy realized the meeting had ended; the screens were now black, no longer floating.

"Yes?" asked the teen.

Zedd stood. "When you go into the Command Center, you need to be careful not to destroy Zordon's energy tube."

'_Go into the Command Center? Oh right… that.' _Tommy frowned. "But wouldn't that be the best way to get rid of him?"

Zedd nodded. "In the sense that it would kill him, yes, but destroying his tube would have irrevocable consequences. Zordon is a source of pure Good, and the energy he wields is consequently of the same nature and very old, making it incredibly powerful. If you were to break his tube, it would send out a wave so powerful, it could wipe out the entire Dark Empire."

'_Damn,'_ he thought. "I understand. Then what can I do?"

"Zordon is only on Earth through a link between him and the Command Center that keeps him suspended in his time warp. If you sever that link, you break his ability to be on Earth," supplied Goldar.

The green ranger nodded. "So I need to destroy whatever is keeping him here."

"Exactly," said Scorpina. "His assistant, Alpha 5, will try to reestablish the connection. He needs to be taken out, as well."

"Can't the little machine just be turned into scrap metal?" Goldar asked.

The green ranger shook his head. "He's a computer. Breaking him apart only destroys the shell; you have to destroy his core, the data inside."

"Do you know how to do that?" asked Scorpina.

"I may have a way," said Tommy thoughtfully. He was sure he could find some tech geek girl at school to write the code for him.

"What happens after we get rid of Zordon?"

"You said it yourself," said Zedd. "The rangers will be lost without their precious mentor. We can't kill Zordon right now, not without hurting ourselves in the process, so their power will remain with them. But we can dismantle them piece by piece."

"So then what's next?" asked Goldar.

"Their zords," supplied Tommy. "They can cause some serious damage with their zords, and if they're operational during the invasion, we'll have a problem."

Zedd nodded. "Then that will be our focus for the time being, finding a way to destroy their zords."

He turned to Tommy. "Can you take out Zordon soon?"

Tommy nodded, excitement coursing through him. He had been off duty for some time, spending his time training with Scorpina to hone his skills for the invasion. He was itching to get back into the fight. It was strange to be the one helping to plan things as opposed to being the one sent out to just do the dirty work.

It was a welcome change for the green ranger.

But at the same time, Tommy _didn't_ want to go after Zordon.

He and Kimberly had begun a strange relationship of sorts. They had begun seeing each other more frequently, sneaking around during the week and meeting up on weekends. More and more, the two would talk while together, and Tommy learned very quickly how important Zordon was to the pink ranger. The way she spoke of him was as if he were a father to her. He guessed that made sense, given how Kim's real father was never around growing up. Zordon was someone she felt she could depend on and trust.

'_She might never forgive me if I hurt him,' _he thought to himself.

"Tommy?" Zedd asked again, impatient.

The green ranger blinked rapidly, looking into the expectant face of his master. "Yes?"

"Zordon. I asked when would you be able to take care of him."

Tommy licked his lips, brows furrowing. He made a deal with Zedd that he would be his general, and he needed to honor that commitment.

But Kimberly would be crushed.

Tommy glared when he heard Goldar's fingernails tap against the table. "It'd be lovely if you could respond today."

The green ranger looked back to Zedd, coming to a decision.

"I can do it tomorrow night."

* * *

**Hart Residence**

**Kimberly's Room**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**Wednesday, 11:31 PM**

"What's wrong?"

Tommy looked down into Kim's brown eyes, watching her fingers play with the chain around his neck.

"Nothing," he said softly.

He felt her sigh against him. "You're lying."

"I'm just thinking. Last time I checked, that wasn't a crime."

She sat up, moving so that she lay flush against him; he could feel her everywhere against his body. "Talk to me."

'_Where do I even begin?'_ he thought, reflecting on the last few hours silently.

…_Tommy had received a call from Kim earlier that evening at his house; she needed to see him._

_Being the dumbass that he was, he went._

_Apparently, Jason had noticed that their relationship had changed. Kim wasn't as attentive anymore or as happy about seeing him. She was distant, detached…_

_They barely kissed, touches were scarce, and he wanted to know what he did wrong._

_When Tommy asked her why she was pulling away from the red ranger, her response was that it felt wrong to be intimate with Jason when she was already intimate with him._

_He couldn't help the smile on his face at that comment._

_Jason didn't kiss her or hold her like he did. She told Tommy it felt like she was cheating on him with Jason whenever the red ranger tried to be with her._

_Tommy suggested that she break up with Jason, tired of seeing the two of them together day in and day out. _

_She told him she couldn't do that. Not only would it hurt Jason, but it would also hurt her because she was still in love with him._

"_The problem isn't Jason; it was never Jason. The problem is you, Tommy. I'm falling for you when that's the last thing I want to do," she said to him._

_A combination of dread and pleasure hit him at her confession. Part of him was happy to know she felt so strongly for him, but another part was scared of the implications._

_When he looked at her, he knew she wanted some type of reaction from him. Happiness… his own confession… _something_._

_He could only tell her he was sorry she felt that way._

_His stomach twisted inside when he saw tears gather in her eyes, a sure sign that he hurt her. He didn't expect her to yell at him, calling him a coward for not admitting how he felt._

_He told her he couldn't, and she pointed out that just because he couldn't didn't mean that he wasn't in love with her._

_He tried to argue back but was unable to bring himself to say the words._

_She kissed him then, and he knew he was a goner. _

_Hands and lips were everywhere, clothes strewn across the small bedroom. He found himself on his back, naked and more aroused than he had ever been in his life. His hands were on her hips, and she set the pace to one he wasn't accustomed to._

_Sex for Tommy was always about release, getting his partner off as fast and hard as possible. Kim rode him slowly, deliberately drawing out their pleasure. She brought him to a point of near delirium, and he rolled them over so that he was on top._

_He kept at the pace she set, using only deep, slow strokes. Their fingers had locked together on their own, his hands pushing hers into her purple sheets. Her legs were wrapped tightly around his waist, and he took pleasure in every moan she let out._

_Tommy knew they weren't just having sex anymore, and he ignored the panic that stirred in him. He focused instead on the soft gasps she released when his thrusts came a bit harder, his release building steadily. _

_She clenched around him tightly then, whispering in his ear that she had always wanted to cum with him making love to her like he was now._

_Her words startled him, and he came with unexpected force inside of her, groaning her name into her neck as he shuddered. He hadn't realized that she came when he did, moaning his name loudly in his ear._

_Tommy had never felt so weak after a climax before, limbs too weak to hold him up. She kissed him as he lay on top of her, and he responded as best he could. He summoned the strength to roll off of her, mindful of his weight on her small frame. She curled into him immediately, head resting in the crook of his shoulder as he tried to recover…_

"Tommy?" He looked down at her.

"Sorry."

She crossed her arms over his chest, eyes staring down into his questioningly.

"What?" he asked, not comfortable with her scrutinizing him.

"How is it?"

He raised an eyebrow. "How is what?"

"Working for Lord Zedd."

He shifted, wrapping his arms around her back. "It's not so bad, I guess."

"Isn't he scary?" she asked. "He looks terrifying whenever he calls in to talk to Zordon from the viewing globe."

Tommy considered this. "When I first met him, yeah, he was pretty creepy. And I guess even now he has moments where he's scary." He rubbed her back softly.

"But he's pretty okay… for a villain." Tommy bit his lip. "Zedd kinda looks out for me, as crazy as that sounds. Makes sure I'm okay, checks on me and stuff. It's weird…"

"Do you like that?" she asked.

He shrugged. "It's not really a bad thing so much as it's unexpected. They're all different than you would think." He paused. "Except Goldar, he's more of a jackass than you know."

Kim giggled softly. "I never doubted."

He smiled. "But other than him, Lord Zedd and Scorpina aren't that bad. Rita was an idiot and annoying, but she wasn't really all that mean. Squatt, Baboo and Finster are alright, too. Dumb, but harmless."

"Hm," she said. "I guess I just never think of them outside of being evil."

"That's fair," he said. "It's the only way you've seen them. Why would you think otherwise?"

Kim nodded, staring at him as she ran a finger along his hairline.

A comfortable silence fell over them as they lay together, and he closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her small fingers caressing his skin.

The two of them had begun sleeping together regularly, managing to keep their trysts off the radar. What started as random meetings around Angel Grove had evolved into a routine for them. They had an insatiable appetite for each other, sometimes meeting up during school to alleviate their need for one another. At night, a pink flash of light would appear in his room, and he would feel Kimberly crawl into his bed beside him or the reverse would happen at her house.

The green ranger couldn't recall when exactly their relationship evolved to this…_convoluted_ _affair_, but he knew the turning point was Kim's appearance in his garage two weeks ago. Tommy still wasn't entirely comfortable with the notion of being with her, knowing that he would most likely be killed by Lord Zedd if he ever found out what they were doing. He figured Kim was in a similar position, and it was obvious from her quietness and the way her blissful expressions would turn to looks of raw guilt after their coupling that the pink ranger was also having serious reservations about _whatever_ was going on between them.

And yet, they continued to see each other as if they weren't aware that they were digging a hole for themselves.

Sex with Kimberly was usually rough, which he realized very quickly she craved. She told him once that she liked how uninhibited he was in bed, loving that he was comfortable enough to take charge and be in control. Lately, however, sex with Kimberly had taken an unexpected shift. It was less aggressive, less frantic… more time was spent on pillow talk and cuddling…

Somehow, their relationship turned from sexual to intimate without him realizing it.

And now there wasn't a damn thing he could do to change it.

Part of Tommy was absolutely terrified about his situation with Kimberly. His need for her was something he couldn't fight, something he couldn't control, and he knew it needed to end. He had considered breaking things off with her in the name of self-preservation, and she had even attempted to end things between them on several occasions. But as usual, logic was overrun by desire and a need for each other that was hard to ignore, and they would find themselves back at square one. Tommy was quickly learning to accept that being with her was like a drug for him – she intoxicated him and left him with such desire that he was utterly addicted to her – and that was _not_ a good thing.

He was also scared of what would happen if Zedd found out about them. There was no doubt in Tommy's mind that he would be gutted _and_ beheaded for being with her. They managed to go unnoticed this far, but how long could they really keep this up? And would it even be worth it in the end?

In the back of his mind, though, was a part of him that was incredibly happy about his situation with Kim. Back in his junior year, he had often fantasized about Kimberly, and when his feelings for her progressed beyond mere friendship and attraction, he had even considered possibly dating her if she and Jason were to ever end. Although their current situation was admittedly _anything_ but an official relationship, he couldn't help but think of their time together as a glimpse of what could have been between them. Power rangers and the Dark Empire aside, he was _with_ her; not necessarily in the way he had pictured it, but enough to make him silently yearn for more.

Her finger made its way to his lips, tracing them softly, and he gently nipped at the tip, causing her to grin.

'_God,'_ he thought as he felt her finger trail down his chin to his chest. _'What is she doing to me?'_

No woman had ever left her mark like Kim did, pulling such intimate thoughts and gestures from him.

It was unsettling.

"It's strange to think you fit into their world," she said softly. "I don't really consider you evil."

He laughed hard, eyes opening slowly. "I'm sure your teammates would _strongly_ disagree."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah, obviously… but they don't know you the way I do."

'_No, they don't.'_

His fingers traced her features lazily. "What would you consider me?"

"There are too many words for what you are," she said with a smile. "Rude, arrogant, a complete jackass…"

He laughed underneath her, wide smile on his face. "Nice to know you think so highly of me."

She smiled softly. "I do."

"What about you?" he asked, changing the subject when he grew uncomfortable with the direction of their conversation. "What's it like being a power ranger?"

Kim sighed. "At first it was a pain; I almost said no. The helmet kept messing up my hair."

He rolled his eyes. "Please tell me you're joking."

She laughed. "It did! You know how difficult it is to keep my hair like this?"

Tommy ran a hand through her chestnut locks. "I can imagine… but clearly you kept the job."

"Well, it became easier," she admitted. "Not the fighting or anything, but the situation. I was surrounded by my best friends every time I went into battle. And in the Command Center with Zordon and Alpha… they took care of us. It wasn't so bad when I had my own little family to come back to."

He looked up at the ceiling, unable to maintain eye contact with her. Here she was telling him about her family that he was trying to destroy.

He swallowed thickly. "So you decided to keep doing it."

She nodded. "I couldn't just _not_ do it anymore. Even if the hours are long and the pay is terrible."

She gave a crooked smile before her expression went serious. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if the Earth was terrorized and I had the opportunity to stop it."

She traced a finger on his chest. "I value this world too much to let it be destroyed by – "

He noticed she paused, and his eyes locked with hers. "By someone like Zedd? Or me?" he finished.

"By anyone," she whispered.

Tommy could feel the fragile bubble they built around themselves beginning to tremble by the weight of her words, reality threatening to shatter the little world they made.

No matter how they felt about each other, they were on opposite sides. That fact was going to keep rearing its ugly head over and over again, reminding them why this thing between them was a terrible idea. He was supposed to be fighting her, not having intimate conversation after…

'_Just calling it sex cheapens it, but I can't go there with her,'_ he reminded himself, choosing to deny that the two of them made love as she suggested earlier.

He wrapped his arms around her, rolling them over so that she lay on her back. He held himself up over her, dark eyes scanning her features.

"I don't want to talk anymore," he whispered, relieved when she agreed to end the conversation.

He kissed her tenderly, tongue curling around hers as her hands made their way to his hair. Their kisses grew more heated, and Tommy could feel his erection pressing against her stomach.

Maybe he wanted to hold on to this world for just a bit longer.

* * *

**Angel Grove Desert**

**Outside the Command Center**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**Thursday, 3:11 AM**

'_Where the hell is the fucking door?'_

Tommy was outside the Command Center, the base of operations for the power rangers. He could barely see in the darkness save for the small circle of light available to him by the flashlight he took from his room.

He was shivering in his clothes, mentally berating himself for not wearing warmer clothing. It had slipped his mind that the desert was freezing at night.

He caught sight of a small panel with a circular indentation, and immediately grabbed his power coin out of his jean pocket, shoving it inside the groove.

'_Come on,'_ he urged.

He heard a soft beep and a click, and then the door slid open, allowing him to slip inside. He pulled his hood off his head, sliding the door shut behind him.

"All right," he said aloud to himself. "The control room they're in looks pretty sizable whenever Zedd contacts them. Big rooms have big doors… so I just need to look for a really big door."

He wandered the halls as quietly as possible, taking note of the general layout of the Command Center. Their Medical Bay was quite impressive, as was their Weapons Room. Any other day, Tommy would spend the time trashing the area, but he didn't come for that purpose.

That was for another day.

He walked around for nearly fifteen minutes, believing himself lost until he happened upon two of the largest doors he had ever seen in his life.

"This has to be it," he whispered.

He pressed his power coin into the panel next to the entrance, and the large doors slid open slowly. Tommy entered the dimly lit room, surprised by how expansive it was.

'_Holy shit,'_ he thought in amazement. _'Much better than the Lunar Palace for sure.'_

Tommy walked down the small ramp slowly, taking in the large pillars and brightly lit control panels. He had to admit he was impressed. At the head of the room was a huge cylindrical tube, and at its base stood a small red robot. Tommy saw the lightning bolt on the robot's chest and recognized it as Alpha 5 from Kim's description.

His throat constricted suddenly. _'Kim.'_

He didn't even want to think about what she would say about this. Kim considered Alpha 5 and Zordon to be family. She might never forgive him for what he was about to do.

'_Can't think about that right now,'_ he thought to himself.

Tommy reached into his backpack, grabbing the small CD with the virus and sliding it into the back of Alpha 5. The small robot began to beep in alarm, jerking as the virus corrupted its system.

'_One down, one to go,'_ he thought as he made his way to the panels.

"TOMMY."

'_Fuck.'_

Tommy looked up, staring at the face of Zordon, his master's enemy. "Can't talk right now," said the teen. "Busy."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ALPHA 5?" Zordon asked.

"Shot him up with a virus," Tommy said distractedly, ripping out cables and plugs from beneath the consoles. He saw no reason to lie; there wasn't much Zordon could do to him from inside his energy tube.

"TOMMY, YOU DO NOT REALIZE WHAT YOU ARE DOING. LORD ZEDD HAS CAST A SPELL ON YOU THAT –"

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Has made me evil and do things I wouldn't normally do in my right mind… blah blah blah… I _know_ already. You're not the first to try and tell me."

"THEN YOU KNOW THIS IS WRONG."

"I don't know what's right or wrong, only that you are a nuisance to my master, and that you and your rangers must be dealt with… permanently," hissed the green ranger.

"TOMMY, PLEASE, LET US-"

The teen raised his hand, green energy cackling at his fingertips. "Goodbye, Zordon."

He shot energy blasts at the control panels in the room, sending sparks flying everywhere. All that remained where the panels were once before was charred metal and burned wires. He looked up at the energy tube, smiling when he saw it was now dark.

Zordon was gone… for now. The rangers could get him back, but the time it would take to reconnect with the Eltarian would be more than enough time to destroy the rangers, especially with Alpha out of commission.

Tommy quickly ran over to the robot, grabbing the CD from its back and tucking it back into his backpack. Without the CD, it would take Billy far longer to get rid of the virus that was now in Alpha 5's system. He blasted the robot, sending its head and limbs flying in several different directions.

'_That should buy us more time,'_ he reasoned. _'Even if they put you back together, the virus is still in your memory banks.'_

He'd give it three, maybe four days tops until the rangers found out what happened at the Command Center. From what he gathered, Zordon only contacted them when something was wrong. Three days of inactivity from their mentor would definitely rouse suspicion.

That gave him three days to find a way to explain himself to Kimberly.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's Note:** Here's the next chapter, which I lovingly call "The Trainwreck." :) Just read and you'll know what I mean._

_Warning: This chapter has graphic sexual content and is pretty intense. I know some people are uncomfortable with that and skip through certain parts, but I would still suggest reading it. What's happening in Tommy's head is very different than what's going on around him, and the way he interprets what happens is really important for the story and his character. Plus, there's **a lot** happening in this chapter, and jumping ahead might have you going "WTF?" LOL. _

_That being said, onto chapter 9. As always, please read and review! All feedback is appreciated!_

* * *

**Lunar Palace**

**Lord Zedd's Study**

**The Moon**

**Saturday, Local Time, unknown**

"And you're sure he's gone?" asked the emperor.

Tommy nodded. "Yes. Zordon won't be back for awhile. There was no sign of him in his energy tube, and I destroyed all of the control panels, so it will take some time to get him back. And with his assistant incapacitated… we have nothing to worry about."

"Excellent. Then we can move on to phase C of the plan: demolishing their zords."

He nodded at Tommy, who sat down as Scorpina stood at the head of the table with rolls of paper under her arm.

The door to the study suddenly opened, and Goldar came in.

"Sorry I'm late, I just-" He sniffed, nostrils flaring briefly, and he turned his gaze to Tommy, staring coldly at the teen.

The green ranger squirmed under his stare, becoming agitated when Goldar wouldn't stop looking at him.

"Hey, Goldie, I know it's hard to look away from such a pretty face given how ugly you are, but try to be discreet next time," Tommy said with a nervous laugh.

Goldar blinked, ignoring Tommy and turning to Lord Zedd. "Sir, remember our discussion before-"

Zedd shook his head. "Later. Sit."

'_What's Goldar talking about?'_ wondered the teen.

Tommy could still feel Goldar's glare on him, and he forced himself to focus on Scorpina.

Lord Zedd motioned to her. "Begin."

She unrolled the large sheets of paper, pinning them to the wall. "Finster created a scanner that can see through the power rangers' zords. During their last battle with Goldar, Finster and I were down on Earth using the scanner on their Megazord."

She pointed at the largest sheet; it was a schematic of the Megazord. "It would appear that their zords use solar energy."

Tommy snorted in disbelief. "You have got to be shitting me… Who thought _that_ was a good idea?"

'_If I had known that earlier, this would've been over from the beginning,' _he thought wryly.

Scorpina shrugged. "Beats me. The point is that we can easily defeat them if we engage them in battle at night. Without the sun, they would have to call on their reserved energy in the solar cells."

Zedd crossed his arms over his chest. "When would you be able to fight them?"

"Anytime, really. It just depends on when we want to do it," said Scorpina.

Tommy stared hard at the schematics. "How long until the invasion?"

"Eight Earth days."

He scratched his chin, slightly surprised with how soon everything was happening.

"Billy is the smartest of their team, a certified genius. The guy's fast at solving problems," admitted Tommy. "And I mean _really_ fast. Trini's pretty good with electronics, too. They'll have the control room back in good shape in eight days – no doubt about it. They might even be able to get Zordon back."

"So we keep them distracted," said Goldar. "Whether or not they can fix their control room is irrelevant – they still need to get Alpha 5 up and running and bring Zordon back from his time warp. It shouldn't take long to fix the control panels, but it will take some time to get their leader back. We need to attack now while they are vulnerable."

"I agree," said Scorpina. "We have eight days to dismantle the power rangers. We need to hit them now."

Tommy shook his head in disagreement. "No. We need to attack right before the invasion."

"That gives them too much time," argued Goldar.

"You said it yourself: even if they fix the control panels, it will take awhile to find Zordon. If we attack the zords now, it will give them time to work on repairing them. Hitting them right before the invasion will not only put their zords out of commission, but it will also give them little time to repair with the Dark Empire coming so soon."

Zedd nodded. "So what do you propose, green ranger?"

Tommy licked his lips. "Two days before the invasion, we strike. Let them think they are making progress with Zordon, give them a false sense of hope. And then we attack them at night when they're weakest."

He snapped his fingers as an idea struck him. "We can even hit them twice!"

"Explain," said Zedd with interest.

"We attack Angel Grove at night; draw them out to fight against Goldar and Scorpina. While they're fighting, I can go back to their Command Center and destroy their control room again. It'll leave them without zords and eliminate any of the progress they may have made up to that point in bringing Zordon back."

Zedd nodded at this. "I like this plan. The rangers will be too distracted from the battle to stop you from destroying their control room. Excellent, Tommy."

Tommy felt warm from Zedd's praise.

The emperor turned to Goldar. "What news do you have from the Council?"

Goldar growled. "There appears to be a rebellion forming on KO-35."

"Another?" asked Scorpina in disbelief.

Goldar nodded. "They are trying to fight again. Commander Diabolico believes it is of little significance, but there have been minor uprisings in the colonies there. Most have been successful."

"How? We stripped them of their weapons long ago," said Zedd.

"It appears there's been smuggling to KO-35 using our ships," said the warrior. "Diabolico's engineers say the weapons they've recovered are Eltarian."

Tommy watched Lord Zedd glow red. The Eltarian Empire was the only remaining force of Good left in the universe, and it was also the only thing keeping Lord Zedd from having total control of the universe.

"What course of action is he taking to contain the situation?" Lord Zedd snarled.

Goldar shrugged. "For now, he is sending small armies to exterminate the rebels. He does not plan to do much more until it is necessary."

Zedd scowled. "For his sake, the situation better stay under control. Anything else?"

Goldar nodded. "Yes. You need to meet with the leaders of the KAX Union. A treaty with them would be ideal, and you need to move swiftly before Eltar tries to offer them protection."

Tommy looked on in confusion. "Why can't you just take them by force like you're doing with Earth?"

The green ranger knew a bit about the KAX Union. Kalderon, Aquitar, and Xybria had joined forces nearly a century ago, making what was now known as the KAX Union. Kalderon was the lead supplier of hycurium, the main substance needed for explosives. Aquitar was covered in dilithium deposits, which was used to power ships. Xybria had adamantite deposits, the strongest metal in the galaxy. As a union, they formed a powerful conglomerate and remained virtually untouchable.

"Because of the substances they have. Battle on Aquitar or Xybria would damage the deposits, and war on Kalderon would be suicide with the amount of hycurium there. In this situation, it is preferable to have an alliance," Zedd informed the teen.

'_Makes sense.'_

Zedd sighed. "It appears I won't be here for the invasion of Earth. I must move swiftly to ensure that the KAX Union is an ally of the Dark Empire. This meeting requires my attendance and not one of my ambassadors."

He turned to Goldar. "In my absence, I want you to lead the invasion of Earth and will hereby be referred to as Commander Goldar. As commander, you will be in charge of all decisions regarding the invasion in my absence, including talks with the leaders of Earth. I trust you will handle this."

The gold-plated warrior nodded. "You have my word."

"Have Finster prep Serpentera for departure. The KAX Union is three galaxies away, and I need the fastest mode of transportation to get there. I know he is working on repairs to the system computer; I need him to expedite the process."

Zedd turned to Scorpina. "Set up a Council meeting the day before the invasion to go over logistics with the other generals. I want to make sure the invasion goes without any problems. I will be reachable via the communications link on Serpentera and will radio in."

She nodded. "Understood."

Zedd stood, staff in hand. "You all know what to do."

He opened the door to his study, pausing before he walked out.

"Failure is _not_ an option."

* * *

**Oliver Residence**

**The Garage**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**4:20 PM**

The music in Tommy's garage blasted loudly, and he was grateful that none of his neighbors had decided to call the police to report him. He was underneath his truck, working on the axle of his front wheels while mouthing the lyrics to LL Cool J's "I'm Bad."

His father was away on a _business_ trip and his mother was over in Arizona visiting his aunt Diana, leaving him home alone for the weekend.

A painful kick to his shin startled him, and he jerked involuntarily, slamming his head into the truck.

"Fuck!" he shouted, sliding out from under his vehicle to glare at his attacker, rubbing his head softly.

His attacker turned out to be Kimberly.

A very pissed-off Kimberly.

'_Shit,'_ he thought. _'Here we go.'_

Tommy stood, grabbing the torn rag from his back pocket to wipe off his hands.

"Did you do it?" she asked, voice raspy. She had been crying; her eyes were still red.

"Have to be a little more specific," he told her, walking past her to turn down the music.

His eyes widened when she grabbed a wrench off the ground, chucking it violently at him. He ducked at the last second, wincing when it slammed against the wall with a loud clang.

"Have you lost your fucking mind?" he yelled at her.

She pointed at him. "Answer the question," she hissed.

"What was it again?" He knew he was being an asshole.

She screamed in frustration, raking her hands through her hair. "Don't fucking _play_ with me, Tommy!"

He growled. "Then quit acting like you don't already know. Yes, I did it."

Her face scrunched up, and he couldn't tell if she was going to cry or scream again.

"_Why_?" she finally asked weakly.

Tommy laughed, though he knew it was forced. "Why? I'm the _evil_ green ranger, Kimberly, or maybe you forgot."

She narrowed her eyes. "You didn't even care," she accused.

He glared at her, hand shooting out to hit the close button on the garage door. He didn't want anyone nearby to overhear them.

"You think that matters?" he asked incredulously. "I work for Lord Zedd and the Dark Empire. That ring any bells?"

He rolled his eyes. "The sex was good, but not good enough for me to get killed over, _beautiful_."

Tommy needed her to be angry with him, to scream, to hit… _anything_ but break down.

He couldn't handle that.

All he saw was a pink blur and she was on him, swinging wildly. He held up his arms, protecting his face.

"God dammit, stop!" he shouted. Part of him really did want her to stop; the blows hurt like hell. But another part of him wanted her to hit him. He knew on some level he deserved it.

"Did you stop when you blew up our Command Center?" she asked, picking up a screwdriver and throwing it at him.

"Kim," he growled, growing angry when she started throwing his things.

"Did you stop when you blew Alpha apart? Or when you sent Zordon off to only God knows where?"

She picked up a stool, slamming it into his back before grabbing a hammer off the nearby bench. He stumbled , blinking hard before moving quickly and grabbing it from her. He tried to grab her; she bit him hard on the arm and he shouted in pain.

"Kim," he said reaching out to her again. "Listen, I –"

She recoiled when he grabbed her arm, viciously backhanding him. Tommy's vision spun from the blow, and he raised his hand to his face, surprised to find blood there. He looked at her shaking hand.

She had cut him with the promise ring Jason bought her.

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed, eyes wet with unshed tears.

"I'm such a fucking idiot for thinking that someone as… as twisted and demented and _evil_ as you could care about me," she sobbed. "Everyone warned me about you. You've done nothing but hurt us over and over again, but _no_… I had to believe there was still _some_ good in you."

Tommy's jaw clenched tightly as he listened to her rant. Her words were like hundreds of daggers to his flesh, running across his skin as they cut him deeply and slowly.

She shook her head, a nasty glare distorting her beautiful face. "And now you do this?"

He stumbled back when she shoved against his chest. "You _know_ how important Zordon is to me. He's like my father, Tommy! I _trusted_ you, you bastard."

"That was your mistake." He saw the raw hurt in her eyes and had to look down.

Kim gave a choked laugh, hands covering her face. "God…I ruined something wonderful with Jason for you."

He looked up in alarm when she said this. He wasn't expecting to hear the regret in her voice. _'Does she regret hurting him? Or being with me?'_

She shook her head. "He was so good to me," she said, voice muffled as she spoke into her hands. "And I was too stupid to realize you didn't care about me."

His eyes flashed green in anger, though he made no move to correct her. He did care, more than she realized, but it was safer for all involved if she thought he didn't give a damn.

For all the horrible things he did, he could at least try to protect her.

He owed her that much.

"We're done," she said, breaking through the silence.

"What?" he asked, mouth suddenly dry. Her words sounded thunderous to his ears.

"You didn't think that after what you did we'd keep doing this, did you?" she asked in disbelief. "You betrayed my trust, Tommy, and I've already done things I'm not proud of because of you."

His heart began to race, hands flexing involuntarily.

"I can never take back what I did to Jason, but I can start making it right. Starting now."

His throat constricted when he saw the determination in her eyes. "You're not going back to Jason."

She shot him a look. "You don't tell me what to do, Tommy. You don't _control_ me."

There was that word… _control_…

He took a deep breath, attempting to calm his nerves. He was getting agitated as it became clear he was losing her.

"You're not going anywhere," he hissed.

She stared at him, and he saw her eyes widen when she realized his intent.

And as he expected, she took off running.

He followed quickly, grabbing her around the waist, and she screamed loudly, kicking to get away from him. He picked her up, slamming her against the back of his truck. He heard her groan in pain, and he was slightly concerned, loosening his grip. Kim twisted, swinging hard and slamming her fist into his face.

Tommy's eyes flashed green, and he grabbed her left wrist, twisting her arm behind her painfully. She let out an agonized cry, using her other hand to scratch him on the face. The green ranger growled, spinning her around to slam her forcefully into the back of his F-150, and he knew she more than likely had a bruise on her stomach.

"You want to threaten me?" he snarled in her ear. "With _Jason_?"

He grabbed her arms when she tried to elbow him. "Jason's twice the man you are."

Her words caused something in him to snap, and he turned her roughly, lips crashing against hers hard. This time, she really did fight against him, shoving him so that he stumbled back.

"Don't touch me," she said, breathing heavily. "Sex can't fix this, Tommy."

He rose to her challenge, grabbing her again and kissing her harshly. He could feel her scratching his arms, drawing blood. He pulled back with a hiss, and his vision rocked when he felt his head snap back from the uppercut she landed on his chin.

Tommy tasted blood in his mouth and was painfully aroused. Sex right now was a terrible idea, and it would actually be taking advantage of her given her emotional state.

But he didn't care. She was pulling away from him quickly, and he wanted to hold onto her in any way possible.

"Don't do this," she said as he got closer to her, his large frame towering over hers.

"Then stop me." He knew she wouldn't; she never did. He saw her nipples straining against her shirt.

"You make me sick," Kim whispered huskily. "I can't even stand the sight of you right now."

His chest tightened at her stinging words. "Then don't look at me."

Grabbing her waist, he turned her so her back was to his front. He grabbed the latch on the back of his truck, lowering the door before pushing her so that she was bent over.

He unzipped his jeans, pulling out his cock. His hands skimmed her muscular thighs, reaching under her skirt and yanking her panties halfway down her legs. The evidence of her arousal was everywhere. He pressed a hand to the small of her back as he guided himself inside of her, sighing at the pleasure.

He grabbed her hands pushing back against his abdomen, locking their fingers together and holding her hands down against the truck.

"I hate you," she rasped out around a moan.

His hips rolled against hers, and he concentrated on how tight she was around him instead of how angry she was at him. Her hands squeezed against his painfully, and he shook his head. There was no doubt in his mind that she hated him more than any person she had ever met, but that didn't stop her from letting him take her.

She was cursing him to Hell and back as he fucked her, and the combination of hatred, desire, and self-loathing surrounding her added a foreboding heaviness to their coupling.

"For someone that hates me, you could try a bit harder to act like it," he groaned, letting go of her hands.

Her response was to clench around him tightly as she cried out weakly. He laughed darkly, yanking her hips against his powerfully, leaving her breathless.

"You son of a bitch," she gasped. She was so hot around him.

"Then what does that make you?" he asked breathlessly.

He didn't expect an answer, knowing already that she hated herself for once again giving in to him. He was the man she trusted, gave herself to… and he threw it back in her face, purposefully trying to destroy everything that made her happy.

If he was her, he'd hate himself, too.

He let go of her hips, grabbing onto the sides of his truck as he fucked her hard, and he saw her nails scratch against the truck bed.

"Yes… yes… yes… ohgod _fuck_," she cried out, and he laughed when he felt her cum hard around him.

She may want nothing to do with him emotionally, but her body could never deny him.

She twisted against him as she shivered from her climax, and the sounds she made only heightened his arousal. Kim sagged against the truck limply, and he wrapped an arm around her stomach, pulling her up so that she was flush against him.

Her hands came up behind him, one wrapped in his hair and the other clutching his ass. He cupped her left breast in his hand, his other hand against her stomach as he thrust into her. He licked her neck, mouth pulling her ear into his mouth.

"Don't you _ever_ threaten to go to Jason again," he breathed hotly in her ear. "Do you hear me?"

Her response was to moan loudly as he thrust up into her; her hand yanking hard on his hair.

"You're mine," he growled, grabbing her face and pulling her into a hard kiss. She responded just as fiercely, their teeth and tongues colliding harshly.

He pulled away, pushing her forward again, and she braced herself on her hands. He shoved fiercely into her, body running on pure instinct.

"Shit," she gasped out in surprise when he gave a surprisingly deep stroke. "You're gonna make me cum again."

Her words were like music to his ears, and he grabbed her hips in his hands, thrusting deeply into her at a vigorous pace. He could feel his release building in his stomach, and he let out a feral growl.

Her cries of his name and pleas to fuck her harder spurred him on, and he called on some of his green ranger powers to slam into her, rocking the truck hard on its wheels.

He leaned forward, lips finding the back of her neck as he pounded into her.

"_Fuck_ you feel so good," he whispered against her skin. "And you're _mine_."

He needed her to understand. Hating him for what he did changed nothing about their relationship as far as he was concerned. She was his and she would _always_ be his. If he couldn't make her stay emotionally, he would dominate her physically. Her body was controllable, and he would take whatever he could get.

He didn't want her to leave.

"Yes," she cried out, head thrown back as he slid between her legs.

He felt her walls tightening uncontrollably, and he thrust harder to open her back up.

"Say it again," he urged, desperation creeping into his voice.

She bucked beneath him. "I'm yours- ah... I'm cumming… ohmyg– TOMMY!"

The breathless way she cried his name combined with the delicious way her body twisted beneath his as she came was his undoing, and he shot his load deep into her, body shuddering from the powerful bursts. He was hunched over from the force of his orgasm, hips pumping on their own as she milked him of every drop.

He gasped loudly when his climax came to an end, holding himself up with his arms. His lips sought her neck, sucking the tender skin.

"Stop it," she breathed out, though her head bent to give him better access.

"No," he said, trailing his lips upward to pull her into a kiss. "If I want to kiss you, I will."

He grinned against her lips. "And you like me being buried inside of you just as much as I do." He rolled his hips against hers and she clenched involuntarily around him, causing them both to moan.

It was a weak attempt to keep her to him, but he knew sex worked. Kim's body hungered for his like no other, and he would use that against her.

'_It's all I have left.'_

He pulled out of her suddenly, turning her around and lifting her to sit on the truck. Tommy nipped at her neck, stroking himself quickly.

"No more," she said, eyes rolled into her head. "I can't… not with you-"

He sucked her bottom lip between his teeth, ignoring her protests. "But you will."

Her hands pushed weakly against his shoulders, and he slapped them away, distracting her with another long kiss.

"Open up for me," he said into her neck, spreading her legs wide with his hands so he could fit between them. He yanked off her panties, tossing them on the floor behind him.

Once he was fully hard again, he pushed back inside of her, and she groaned, scratching him harshly. He climbed up on the truck, forcing her onto her back as he thrust into her eagerly.

Tommy knew he was taking an incredible risk doing this in his garage, but he didn't care. The way she was whining and writhing underneath him against his truck bed was enough for him to throw caution to the wind.

"So wet," he grunted out, slamming his hips into hers.

He knew he wouldn't last long just from how winded he was from his first orgasm, but he would give as good as he could.

Kim's face was contorted in pleasure, hands clutching the sides of his truck in a white-knuckle grip. He knew she didn't want to enjoy what he was doing to her.

'_Too bad,'_ he thought as he kept fucking her roughly on his truck. She couldn't fight the pleasure coursing through her veins.

"Still hate me?" he asked, hips meeting hers thrust for thrust.

"Yes," she said around a moan. "Oh God!"

His hand found her clit, and he massaged the small nub furiously. She heaved beneath him, hips thrusting frantically against his.

"One more time, baby," he whispered, eyes green as he pulled back the hood of her clit, stroking it directly. Her thighs trembled around his, and he watched her head fall back as she arched, crying out his name.

"Cum for me."

The flush of wetness and vice grip around his cock was his grand prize, and Tommy rode out her third climax, cock swelling inside of her.

"OhgodKim!" he shouted, muscles tensing when he started to cum.

His body seized up, and he let out a choked breath as he felt his seed flow into her. Tommy slammed into her hard several times before he came to rest, loose tendrils of hair sticking to his forehead and neck.

He leaned down, attempting to kiss her but she turned her head. He grabbed her chin, kissing her hard.

"You can hate me all you want," he whispered against her lips. "But you can't fight what you feel. Neither of us can."

He tasted the tears on her lips as his tongue slipping past them to duel with hers.

Tommy was so into the kiss that he didn't hear the cracking noise behind him a few feet away.

He never saw Jason coming.

Tommy was suddenly on his back, vision swimming from how hard his head slammed against the garage floor. He could make out Kim's frantic screams in the background as he was lifted up, Jason's fist slamming repeatedly into his face.

He dropped, landing on his hands and knees. A series of kicks to the stomach sent him to the ground, and he gasped desperately for air.

He looked up dazedly to see Jason and Kim yelling at each other, and the green ranger rolled over, yanking his pants and boxers back up to cover himself. He groaned when he was grabbed once again, body slamming into the wall with Jason's hands around his throat.

"Leave him alone! Jason, _stop_!" he heard Kim scream.

His head rocked back when Jason punched him in the eye repeatedly before the red ranger rammed his knee into Tommy's stomach twice. Jason let him go, and Tommy fell in a heap to the floor. A solid kick to the face sent him reeling, and Tommy lay on the ground in agony, hands covering his face protectively. Jason's foot connected repeatedly with Tommy's ribcage, and the green ranger grunted in pain, wincing from the blows.

The kicking stopped abruptly, and Tommy could feel soft hands on his arms. Kim was asking him if he was okay.

He spat blood and saliva on the garage floor. "I'm fine," he choked out.

"I'm going to kill you," growled Jason.

Tommy laughed, spitting out a tooth into his hand, blood staining his lips and dribbling down his chin. "You should've come a little later. We were about to start another round."

Kim stood between them, blocking Jason's path to Tommy who was favoring his ribs. "Please, Jason, don't hurt him anymore," she pleaded, hands on his chest.

The red ranger snarled, pushing her back from him. "I can't _believe_ you would let that…" His fists clenched.

Tommy slowly made his way to his feet, resting heavily against the wall as he breathed raggedly. "Don't be jealous, Jase. She only came three times today… _way_ less than usual."

"Tommy,_ shut the fuck up_," hissed Kimberly.

The green ranger held up his hands defensively. _'Can't take a joke? Damn.'_

"What are you doing here?" she asked her boyfriend.

Jason glared. "I came here to see if I could get any answers from that piece of shit about what happened to Zordon and Alpha." He scowled. "I got a hell of a lot more."

Tommy grinned wickedly. "Maybe next time you'll learn to knock. Shouldn't just pop in uninvited…"

The red ranger turned his attention to Kimberly. "How could you do this to me?" he asked, voice filled with hurt. "To us?"

Tommy rolled his eyes. _'I hope he's not about to cry.'_

"Jason, I'm sorry," she said, holding his face in her hands. "The first time it happened, I meant to stop but then it just –"

He pulled away from her as if burned. "The _first_ time? How long have you been together?"

"About two months," filled in Tommy, smug smile on his bruised face. "Two long, steamy, _orgasmic_ months."

Jason moved to hit the long-haired teen again, but Kim held him back. Tommy limped over to them, eyes glowing green.

"I've been fucking your girlfriend for the last two months. All those late nights she was too busy or too tired to be with you? Those times when she seemed distant?"

He pointed at himself proudly. "All me."

Jason's nostrils flared before he turned around, pacing angrily in the garage as he clenched his fists.

Kim turned to Tommy, face wet as she stood in front of him. "If you _ever_ gave a damn about me, you'll shut up right now."

The green ranger opened his mouth to speak, eyes fixed on Jason with a nasty glare. Kim's soft hands on his chest dragged Tommy's gaze down to her, and he clenched his jaw, choosing to remain silent.

"I knocked on the front door but no one came. And then I heard the music from the garage, knew it had to be Tommy…" The red ranger looked at Kim with wild eyes, voice rising to a shout. "I HEARD YOU SCREAMING HIS NAME!"

The green ranger watched on from the side, conflicted. He loved the pain he could see so plainly on Jason's face.

He hated the hurt on Kim's.

Kim hung her head, tears coursing down her cheeks as she turned back to the red ranger.

"I'm so _sorry_, Jason."

Kim's body shook with her sobs, and Tommy's hands flexed in agitation.

"You clearly weren't sorry enough to keep your fucking legs closed," Jason barked cruelly.

"Don't talk to her like that," hissed the green ranger, eyes flashing briefly.

Jason growled. "Stay out of this, Tommy." The red ranger focused back on Kimberly.

"I could see if he had forced you… tricked you… _something_, but you did it willingly," he snarled, hands running through his hair. "I could hear it when he made you…"

He didn't finish. The pain on his face said it all.

"I came here to end it," said Kim softly. "I promise you, Jason."

Jason laughed mirthlessly. "I see _that_ turned out well."

She sniffed softly, grabbing his hand in hers. "I love you, Jason. Please believe me."

Tommy watched Jason's features soften at her words and suddenly felt nauseated from the desperation in her voice.

"I believe you." His gaze turned to Tommy, and Jason quickly snatched his hand from her. "But I don't want your version of love, Kim. I just… I can't be here right now." He teleported out in a flash of red, and she fell to the ground, crying loudly.

Tommy watched her from his spot on the wall, unsure of what to do. He didn't really care that Jason was angry… he thought it was funny and what the red ranger deserved.

But seeing Kim in pain made his stomach ache. He walked over to her, dropping down to her level.

"Kim?"

She turned from him. "Stay away from me."

His hand hovered over her shoulder, hesitant to touch her. She was curled into a ball, as if she could turn in on herself.

His hand connected with her back, and she flinched from his touch, crawling away to climb to her feet.

She turned wet eyes to him. "Don't come after me."

She teleported out in a flash of pink, and once again, Tommy was alone.

Tommy sat on the floor of his garage, slightly confused and overwhelmed by what had just happened. One minute he's arguing with Kimberly, next he's having incredible sex with her on his truck…

And then he's getting his face bashed in by Jason.

He touched his face, wincing at the tender flesh there. He didn't even want to know what he looked like.

He wasn't sure how things turned out so horribly wrong. He thought he'd be a bit happier about Jason's reaction to Kimberly and him.

It was dulled by losing Kim.

'_She really hates me,'_ he thought silently. _'What the hell is wrong with me?'_

That was the million dollar question.

He had had no doubt in his mind that Kimberly would never forgive him for what he did to Zordon and Alpha 5, and yet he did it anyway. He did something he knew would cause her pain when he could have just as easily not done it.

Tommy knew he cared for her, way more than he should, but that didn't factor in when it should have.

He proved he didn't give a damn about her feelings or what matters to her… only himself.

Was he really evil like she said?

Tommy felt a sudden cold chill, and his eyes clouded over as he received Zedd's message.

_Come here_.

For once, Tommy was grateful to be summoned, not wanting to process what happened just yet. He would have to talk to Kim later, when she calmed down.

He couldn't see her like she was now.

He climbed to his feet slowly, pausing before teleporting out. He didn't want to heal his wounds just yet; he deserved some of the pain for Kimberly's sake.

'_But how the fuck do I explain what happened to me?'_ he wondered. _'Whatever. I'll come up with something.'_

He teleported from his garage, landing outside of Lord Zedd's throne room. Tommy could hear Zedd and Goldar talking, and he spent his time straightening his clothes.

He heard Goldar growl suddenly, followed by a smug, "I knew it" from the monster.

'_Knew what?'_

He heard Zedd reply, "I see" before Goldar headed in his direction, nostrils flaring once he got close to Tommy.

"Pathetic," mumbled the warrior as he eyed the beaten teen.

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Go away, Goldie." The green ranger walked slowly into the room, careful not to agitate his injuries.

"Hello, Tommy," said Zedd.

The green ranger bowed. "You called, master?"

"Yes," said Zedd, who was studying the teen carefully. "But I would like to discuss something first. How did you get those bruises?"

Tommy swallowed thickly, Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "Got into a fight with some punks in my neighborhood. No big."

The green ranger didn't like the way Zedd was staring at him… so intently.

The older man stilled before turning away. "Do you know where Goldar is from, Tommy?"

Tommy raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in subject. "Hell?"

Zedd gave a short chuckle. "Not quite. He is from Tarmak 3, a very interesting planet. You have any idea why his planet is so interesting?"

The green ranger shook his head. "Not a clue."

'_Where is he going with this?'_ wondered the green ranger.

Zedd circled him slowly, hands clasped behind his back. "Tarmakians are what you would consider half-human… they can walk and talk like normal humans, but remain feral in appearance and behavior."

Zedd paused. "Goldar is a catlike creature… a lion, if you will. Very strong, stubborn, aggressive… can you think of any other traits he may have?"

There was something about the way he was speaking that put Tommy on edge. "No, sir."

The emperor nodded. "I'll help you figure it out. He has heightened senses, like an animal… sight, hearing, taste, touch."

He stood in front of Tommy. "Smell."

Zedd scratched his cheek. "I bring this up because something strange happened some time ago, green ranger. Goldar said he could _smell _the pink ranger's scent on you, albeit faintly."

Tommy felt his pulse quicken, sweat gathering on his palms.

"And just now, he told me he was sure he could smell her all over you."

Tommy's eyes widened. _'Oh God, no…'_

Zedd paused, back facing the teen. "You should really take a shower the next time you decide to have another romp with her."

Tommy was sure his heart was about to burst out of his chest, and he could feel his stomach drop in fear.

"So I will ask you again," said Lord Zedd lowly, now glowing red. "_How_ did you get those bruises?"

Tommy stared at the man before him, knowing it was useless to try and lie. _'He's going to kill me.'_

"I was attacked by the red ranger… for sleeping with the pink ranger…" he said tightly.

Zedd turned, staring at him for a long time, and Tommy saw the red glow of his skin ebb away. The older man turned from him, hands clasped behind his back.

And he began to laugh hysterically.

Tommy looked on in puzzlement, unsure of what was going on.

"This is a most excellent turn of events!" Zedd yelled happily. The emperor rushed over to the shocked teen, squeezing his shoulders affectionately.

"Well done, green ranger."

Tommy felt a wave of relief hit him, but he was still confused. "You're… not upset?"

Zedd spread his hands wide in glee. "Upset? You've done far more than I thought possible, Tommy. You've broken the power rangers in a way I never anticipated."

Tommy stared at him.

Zedd kept talking. "Not only did you get rid of their precious Zordon and that bumbling idiot Alpha 5, but you've planted the seed that will destroy their team.

"Think about it," he said with a cackle. "The red ranger is now distracted, angry, embarrassed… you've compromised the pink ranger by seducing her… their teammates will surely find out and be forced to choose sides. You've caused a rift in their team they won't be able to heal from."

He rubbed his hands together. "This is a cause for celebration."

Tommy watched Zedd move around the throne room. The emperor paused when he saw the green ranger was not following behind.

"Tommy?"

The teen cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, it's just- I don't…" He was at a loss for words.

'_This doesn't make any sense. He should be furious…'_

The green ranger was admittedly thrilled that Zedd wasn't ordering him to be killed, but the emperor's joy was even more unsettling than his anger.

Lord Zedd stared at him curiously before motioning for him to take a seat. The green ranger sat in the offered chair looking up at his leader.

"You want to know why I haven't killed you?" asked Zedd. "For fraternizing with the enemy?"

'_That's one way to put it,'_ thought Tommy as he nodded.

Zedd sat at his throne, hands folded together as he looked over at the teen. "Why would I kill you for that?"

'_Is he serious?'_ asked Tommy, unsure if Zedd was toying with him or not.

"Because I could be compromised. How do you know I don't have feelings for the pink ranger?" asked Tommy.

The man had no way of knowing if Tommy had truly developed feelings for Kimberly, but he seemed so _sure_ that Tommy didn't.

Zedd laughed. "Whether or not you have feelings for her is irrelevant in the scope of things, Tommy."

The green ranger shook his head. "But I could be planning to betray you."

Zedd simply stared at him. "You're not."

The green ranger felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Lord Zedd spoke with such finality, as if everything Tommy was saying was insignificant. The green ranger figured he should be at the very least suspicious about what Tommy would do, since he had been with the pink ranger for some time.

But Zedd somehow knew without asking a single question that the green ranger would stay faithful to him and the Dark Empire.

That bothered him.

Now Tommy was slightly apprehensive. "I don't understand. How do you know?"

Zedd leaned back lazily in his chair, gaze focused on the teen with curiosity.

"You have no idea what I did to you when you became my green ranger, do you?"

Tommy thought about this. "Yeah, I do. You said you would take away my reservations but I would stay in control."

Zedd's nails tapped against his armrest steadily.

"This is true... to an extent. You are in control of your thoughts and feelings, but I took certain…. _precautions_ to make sure you do exactly as I wanted," he said.

'_What?'_

"Reservations come from emotions, just like impulses. Your willingness to do something depends upon the emotions you feel towards that action. They can either give you reason to act or stop you, making you nothing but a slave to them. That is what keeps you caged… that is what makes you human."

He leaned forward. "When I made you my green ranger, I severed a connection between your emotions and your actions by taking away that part of you that allows you to feel remorse. I freed you, Tommy.

"Your little trysts with the pink ranger are a result of anger and lust. You slept with her both because she was a willing partner and because it would hurt the red ranger. I have no reason to believe you would betray me over that."

The green ranger's jaw clenched tightly and he resisted the urge to argue. He _did_ care about Kimberly on some level; that's what drew him to her like a moth to a flame from the very beginning. Jason wasn't the reason he went after her, and it irked him that Zedd thought so.

'_He doesn't know you had feelings for Kimberly before you were his ranger,'_ he reminded himself. _'And it's a good thing for you that he doesn't...'_

And he could feel it again…creeping slowly up his spine.

Fear of what Zedd would do to him.

'_Fear.'_

And suddenly, the small coin in his pocket felt very heavy.

"You said you took away my ability to feel remorse… but that's not the only thing that would cause a person to have reservations."

The emperor laughed. "Very good, green ranger. To completely free you would mean to take away not only your guilt, but also your fear. But why would I take away the one thing that keeps you under my control?"

Tommy's mouth felt incredibly dry, a chill hitting him suddenly.

"You could have developed feelings for the pink ranger, but they do not matter. You will never act on those feelings beyond lust, because you know that it will get you killed; and you will never feel guilt for what you've done to her, because you can't."

Zedd's voice dropped to a whisper. "You will _always_ fear me, and you will always do what keeps you alive… even if it hurts her. You've already proven this, haven't you?"

Tommy thought back on how he attacked Zordon and Alpha, knowing that Kim would be devastated… how he went after Jason even though she loved him… and how even now, he was helping to destroy everything she fought to protect…

He knew intellectually he _should_ feel guilty for what he had done – but he didn't.

He couldn't.

'_This is so fucked up.'_

Tommy sat with his head in his hands, attempting to process what Zedd was telling him. Part of him was pissed at himself for thinking Lord Zedd would actually let him be in control. He should've known better than to agree to become Zedd's green ranger.

He was trapped.

'_I was so determined to get revenge against Jason that I agreed to whatever Zedd said,' _he thought sourly. _'But then again, given that he was going to kill me if I said no… did I really have a choice?' _

Another part of Tommy was, scarily enough, _grateful_ to Lord Zedd. Yes, the emperor tricked him and was basically keeping him at his side by instilling fear in him, but Tommy could admit that he had developed a lot as the green ranger, and he knew it was because of the man before him.

Tommy had never respected anyone more than he did Lord Zedd. Under his tutelage, Tommy had not only become very powerful, but he was also learning a lot about himself as a leader. Zedd's confidence in him pushed him to do more and expect more for himself. He was now skilled at multiple fighting styles, could handle several weapons, was able to speak the basics of several languages, and had found out he was really good at strategy and tactics.

'_But is that really a fair tradeoff?'_ asked a voice. _'Sure, you can do so much more than you ever thought possible, and you're even going to lead one of the armies into battle… but you're under Zedd's control. Your fear of what he'll do to you keeps you his prisoner.'_

Another voice spoke up. '_But do you blame him? You remember what you were like when you first met him… He couldn't take that chance with you.'_

'_That doesn't make it right! He lied to you. All this talk about freeing you, but you're still his slave,' _the first voice argued back.

'_If he hadn't, you would still be living the life you had before where you bent to everyone else's will,' _whispered the second voice fiercely. _'So what if it's Zedd? At least he's letting you do what you want in the process. That has to be better than before.'_

He broke out of his thoughts when Finster entered the room, waddling slowly up to the emperor.

"Serpentera is ready for departure, master."

Zedd nodded, rising to his feet and grabbing his staff. He looked down at the silent green ranger.

"Come here."

The teen rose to his feet before slowly walking over to the emperor.

"I know you fear me, but I also know more than that, you respect me. You understand why I tricked you, don't you?" asked the older man.

Tommy nodded. He understood Zedd was powerful and loyalty was important to him, even if it was secured through questionable means.

'_But am I really okay with that?'_ he asked himself.

The two voices from earlier spoke again, this time in unison. _'You don't have a choice.'_

Zedd grabbed Tommy's shoulders. "You are one of my best warriors, soon to be one of my best generals. If I could have done this any other way, I would have."

Tommy couldn't tell if the man was being honest, but he chose to believe he was.

Zedd squeezed the teen's shoulders before releasing him. "I must take my leave. Defer to Goldar until I return."

The green ranger watched the emperor head out of the throne room, only to turn back at the last second.

"Tommy?"

"Yes?" asked the teen.

"I trust that your meetings with the pink ranger will cease from this day forward. Sleeping with her will prove… problematic once the invasion begins."

"Of course, sir."

'_Not that Kim ever wants to see me again… I don't think she'd piss on me if my ass was on fire.'_

"Good, now clean yourself up. You need to look presentable as one of my generals."

The emperor left for Serpentera, leaving the green ranger alone in the large throne room. Tommy made his way to the throne, dropping gracelessly in the large chair. He stared out at the Earth, captivated by its glow.

His thoughts naturally went to Kimberly, and he wondered how she was doing since the fallout in his garage. She was probably crying her eyes out in her room, sad because Jason finally knew the truth.

A small part of Tommy wondered if she was crying over him as well.

He found little comfort in finding out that his inability to keep from hurting her was because of Zedd. It didn't make the situation any better.

In fact, it made it worse.

As long as he stayed with Zedd, Tommy would always fear the man. As long as he feared Lord Zedd, he would only bring Kimberly pain. And it wasn't as if he could just up and leave Zedd; leaving Zedd would mean the end of his powers, his new life...his _actual _life…

Everything he had worked so hard to keep…

'_I'm sorry, Kimberly.'_

He only wished he could feel it.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Author's Note: **Here is chapter 10! Please read and review! All feedback is appreciated. :)_

* * *

**Angel Grove High School**

**Mr. Raiford's Chemistry Class**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**Wednesday, 11:43 AM**

"Who developed the theory that electrons traveled in discrete orbits around the atom's nucleus?" Mr. Raiford asked.

Tommy stared sleepily at the blackboard, hand tucked under his cheek. He snorted when he saw the head of the student in front of him bob low dangerously, a sure sign that they were falling asleep.

"Does anyone know the answer?" asked the teacher.

'_If no one answers, he's just going to keep asking,'_ he realized.

Tommy sighed, rolling his eyes before raising his hand. "Niels Bohr."

Mr. Raiford looked at him in surprise before smiling. "Yes! That's absolutely correct, Tommy."

He turned back to the board, and Tommy's eyes trailed over to the seat beside him.

He caught Billy looking at him, and he turned quickly. That was the twelfth time he had been caught looking at the blue ranger.

Kimberly hadn't been at school for the last three days, and the green ranger was slightly bothered that he hadn't seen her. He was used to seeing her every day, whether it be in class or battle.

Now it was as if she disappeared from the face of the Earth.

He had seen the other rangers around, including Jason. It was obvious from their demeanor that they knew what happened between the pink and green rangers. Trini's looks of disgust and the hard glint in Billy's eyes were new.

Zack's bitterness was just a bit stronger.

Tommy had asked Jason where Kim was, telling the red ranger that he missed her. Jason looked as if he wanted to break every single bone in Tommy's body. Twice.

'_No wonder she hasn't been in school… I can only imagine how they're treating Kim.'_

He was sure they asked her a million questions, told her she was horrible for what she did to Jason… for what she did to the team…

Zack was undoubtedly on Jason's side, given that they were best friends. Trini was probably the most sympathetic to the pink ranger given their sister-like bond, and Billy was most likely reserved about the whole thing, choosing to remain neutral to keep from choosing sides.

The green ranger ripped out a piece of paper from his notebook, tearing smaller strips from it and balling it up to throw at the blue ranger.

The first three barely made it to his side of the table, and the fourth lightly tapped him on the shoulder. When Billy didn't look at him, he balled up the rest of the sheet, chucking the large ball at him and hitting him on the side of the head.

Billy's hand stilled, and he turned his annoyed gaze to Tommy.

"The paper balls were unnecessary, Tommy. I am _right_ beside you," he hissed.

"Where's Kim?" asked the long-haired teen softly.

His eyes narrowed. "Why do you need to know?"

Tommy's nostrils flared in irritation. "Because I asked you. Now where is she? She wasn't in history, and Trini wouldn't give me any answers."

The blue ranger's gaze softened, and Tommy was struck by the sadness in his clear blue eyes. He had expected anger and hate…not that.

"Leave her alone, Tommy," Billy whispered tiredly. "You've caused enough damage as it is."

He sat back slowly when the blue ranger returned to copying the notes from the board.

Billy was right; they both knew it.

But that didn't make it any easier to accept.

* * *

**Angel Grove High School**

**Football Field**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**3:57 PM**

"Blue 42! Blue 42! Hike!"

Tommy caught the football, looking around for an open receiver. His eyes widened when he saw Bulk headed straight for him, and the green ranger suddenly found himself looking up at the swirling blue sky.

He grabbed Bulk's offered hand, yanking himself up off the ground. Tommy threw down the football angrily, eyes flashing green as he looked at Jason.

That was the sixth time Jason let him be sacked, and he was sick of it.

"What the fuck is your problem, Scott?" asked Tommy angrily as he approached the red and black rangers, yanking his helmet off his head.

Jason looked at Tommy with a bored expression, helmet tucked under his arm. "Are you talking to me?"

The black ranger snorted. "I think he is, Jase."

"That's the sixth time you let me get sacked today. Either do your fucking job or get off the field and let someone else play."

Jason glared, moving into the green ranger's face. "You saying I don't know how to do my job, Oliver?"

Tommy sneered, voice dropping to a low whisper. "Wouldn't be the first time. Maybe Kim wouldn't have been on my dick if you had done your job right from the beginning."

Jason ran at Tommy, jumping on top of the quarterback swinging. Tommy let the red ranger get in a few blows before rolling them over, punching back at him. The other players on the team watched on in shock before running to break up the fight, surprised to see the two in a scuffle.

Tommy felt himself be lifted in the air, one of Bulk's thick arms around his stomach. Billy and two other guys were holding Jason back. Zack stood off to the side, making no move to hold his best friend back.

"What the hell is going on?" Coach Madison asked angrily as he looked between Tommy and Jason. They remained silent.

"So no one can speak now?" he asked in disbelief. Madison shook his head. "Scott, Oliver, head to the locker room. You're off the field for the rest of the week."

"But coach, Jason attacked me! I didn't even _do_ anything," argued Tommy.

"That's _bullshit_ and you know it!" growled Jason who attempted to break free.

"Look, you either can talk to me and tell me what's going on or you can go to the locker room and have it out yourselves."

Neither boy spoke up.

"Johnson, Ramirez, you're up," said Madison pointing at two other players before turning to Tommy and Jason.

"You two? Get off my field."

Tommy threw his helmet onto the grass, pissed off as he made his way to the locker room. He kicked open the door, nearly tearing it off its hinges with his anger.

"Why are you so pissed, Tommy? All of this is your fault," hissed Jason. The red ranger sat down on the bench in front of his locker.

"Excuse me?" asked the green ranger incredulously. "I think it started the day you left me at the palace."

Everyone else was out on the field, leaving the two alone in the locker room.

Jason stood, angrily marching over to Tommy. "So you _sleep _with my _girlfriend_ to get back at _me_?"

"It worked, didn't it?" He didn't sleep with Kim for just that reason, but it was nice to let Jason think so.

Jason's hands flew to his hair. "You're such a selfish prick."

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "I know that."

The red ranger shook his head slowly. "Do you even _try_ to think about anyone outside of yourself for just one second? Have you even noticed that Kim hasn't been in school these last few days?"

_That_ was something Tommy had definitely noticed.

"Do you have any idea what you did to her?" asked Jason.

Tommy grinned. "I know _exactly _what I did to her. You were there for some of it."

The red ranger snarled, grabbing Tommy by his uniform and slamming him into the lockers. The green ranger laughed happily.

"What's wrong, Jase? Can't handle a little competition?" His eyes flashed green. "Though from what I hear, it wasn't a competition at all."

The red ranger's eyes widened briefly. "This is all a big fucking game to you," Jason said in disgust, dropping Tommy to the ground.

Tommy climbed to his feet. "It is… and I'm the winner."

Jason clapped slowly, a cold expression on his face. "Congratulations, Tommy. You win." The stockier teen raised his hands in the air as he began to shout. "Yes! Tommy Oliver wins, ladies and gentlemen!"

His voice dropped to a whisper. "You should feel so _fucking_ proud. You've humiliated me and caused me unimaginable pain by…" He paused, as if the next words hurt to say. "…by sleeping with Kim."

Tommy grinned. "That's all I wanted."

Jason raised a hand. "And _bonus_! You've pretty much destroyed Kimberly. She hates herself, Tommy. I've never seen such self-loathing in all my life."

The grin on the green ranger's face disappeared at the mention of Kim.

Jason ran a hand through his hair. "She was always such a vibrant person, and now she won't even leave her house because she's so ashamed of what she did."

He pointed at Tommy. "And it's all because of you."

Tommy could hear his heart pounding loudly in his ears.

"I would've thought that maybe some part of you deep inside would've tried to protect her. You cared about her once, Tommy."

Jason moved closer to the green ranger. "But I guess none of that mattered, did it? You just _had_ to get back at me in any way possible, damn the consequences and whoever else may suffer in the process."

Tommy growled. "Don't even try to talk about how I feel, red ranger… _especially_ for Kimberly."

Jason laughed heartily. "Are you trying to say you _care_ about her? You've got to be joking. You care so much that you use her for sex, humiliate her and then, just for kicks, destroy the people she sees as family?"

Tommy's jaw clenched angrily. _'It's not like that.'_

"You don't give a shit about Kim. You're a sick son of a bitch that used someone that actually gave a damn about him just to get back at me. You're pathetic," hissed Jason.

The long-haired teen didn't want to admit it, but that one hurt. Not because it was true, but because he couldn't even argue that Jason was wrong for thinking that way. There was a part of him that did get pleasure out of his time with Kim just because it would hurt Jason, and that's all anyone would see.

'_This must be how Kim feels…'_

Tommy glared at Jason. "You're forgetting one thing, Jason. All of this was set in motion because of you."

Jason turned away from him, laughing.

"What the fuck is so funny?" the taller teen asked harshly.

"You know what's ironic, Tommy?" He didn't wait for the green ranger to respond. "The very thing I wanted to avoid happened _because_ I left you at Rita's palace."

"What?" asked Tommy shocked.

Jason sat down, eyes fixed on the tiled floor. "Remember the day I asked you if you had feelings for Kimberly and you said yes?"

Tommy nodded.

"Asked her the same thing… except she said no." Jason shook his head. "I wanted to believe her, but I couldn't shake the feeling that she was lying. I had caught the two of you eyeing each other sometimes when you thought no one was looking and seen firsthand the flirtation you had growing between the two of you…but I figured it was harmless. You wouldn't hurt me."

He looked up, meeting Tommy's eyes. "And then I saw the two of you in your truck."

Tommy froze. "You saw us kissing."

The red ranger nodded. "I was so hurt to see my best friend and my girlfriend together. I think…I think I wanted to kill you."

Tommy's eyes flashed green. "So you left me at the Lunar Palace for _that_?"

Jason shook his head. "No. There's more."

He cleared his throat. "I was going to talk to Kim about it, but she had other plans. Said she missed me so much that she wanted to take that final step."

He licked his lips, words coming out faster. "I kinda rationalized then that it was okay. She wanted to take that step with me on her own, and she told me she loved me. She made a mistake with you… but I could forgive that."

Jason's eyes narrowed. "And then you went off on your little sex sprees around school." He shook his head. "Kim tried to hide it… but I knew. I knew it hurt her. I knew _you _hurt her."

His hands flexed against his thighs. "I was losing her… slowly but surely. She was smiling less; our time together was shorter or awkward because it was forced. The final straw was when I found her crying in her car."

"What?" Tommy asked, startled by this news.

"She had heard how you took some girl over to the lake in your truck the night before. Really upset her. When I asked her what was wrong, she tried to pass it off as something about her dad, but I knew it was you. It was _always_ about you."

The green ranger understood why Kim was so bothered. The times when they were alone, they would meet at the lake and just talk for hours. He had jokingly called it 'their spot' once due to how often they came there, and it sort of stuck.

And he had been a jackass by taking some girl he couldn't even remember there just to blow off some steam.

"Her tears were becoming a routine for me, and I _hated_ it. I was tired of watching you hurt her, day after day, and you never seemed to give a damn. My own relationship with Kim was starting to suffer as a result of your selfishness… I couldn't let that continue," said Jason.

Tommy eyes filled with understanding. "So when you saw that I had been captured, you saw it as an opportunity to set things right… for you and for Kim."

Jason stared hard at the ground. "I went to the Lunar Palace to give up my coin to Goldar. And then I-I remembered how much pain you put Kimberly in those last few months and how she was pulling away from me… I realized that giving him my coin was only going to bring you and your selfish ways back into our lives."

Jason sighed, nostrils flaring briefly. "So I said no. Told the team it was a trick… that I made another deal and was waiting for Rita to accept. They didn't know I was lying; took it at face value because they trusted me."

Tommy could feel a heat coursing through his body, building in his chest and spreading outward. His hands felt hot, and he knew without looking that there was green energy swirling around his fingertips.

Jason wrung his hands. "It ate me up inside that you were still in that palace, Tommy. All I could think about was what they were doing to you."

"And yet you did _nothing_," Tommy hissed, eyes pure green. He stood, chest tight from trying to stay in control.

'_I'm going to kill this motherfucker.' _

"I was going to make the trade when I saw how miserable Kim was. Even with how hurt she was from what you did to her, she wanted you safe," Jason insisted. He looked up at Tommy. "Do you know how difficult it is to save the only person who can take away the one person you love the most? The person who was causing the one you loved pain?"

The green ranger's nostrils flared, eyes cackling with green energy. "No, and apparently you don't either since _you left me there!_" he shouted.

Tommy ran up to Jason, grabbing him and shoving him against the locker, hands around the red ranger's throat.

"You call yourself a _leader_? You were supposed to _save_ me, Jase! And you left me because you were scared I'd take Kim from you!"

He hit Jason hard in the face repeatedly. "I was beaten _daily_ because of you… Goldar used my body like a _carving_ post. You were supposed to be my fucking friend!"

Tommy's hand hovered over Jason's face, green flames licking at his bruised flesh. Tommy knew he could kill him right now, set his body on fire and leave him to roast painfully on the locker room floor.

'_Maybe then he'll understand what I went through,'_ thought Tommy angrily.

"You were… hurting… her…" Jason gasped out, face flushed from the lack of oxygen as his hands grasped the green ranger's wrist. "You told me… you had feelings for her. But you… never... put her… first…"

Jason gasped loudly, taking in much needed oxygen. "I did."

The flames died at Jason's words, Tommy's grip loosening around the shorter boy's throat.

'_Kimberly.'_

The red ranger avoided his gaze, jaw seriously bruised.

"I wish I never left you there," he said softly, and Tommy could hear the pain radiating from Jason's words.

Jason's eyes remained on the ground, voice so low Tommy had to strain to hear him.

"I tried to tell myself I was doing the right – " He shook his head fiercely. "A _good_ thing, but every second you were locked away in the Lunar Palace, I hated myself more than you could ever know, Tommy. I still do."

Jason looked up at Tommy with sad eyes. "Please believe me…I wish I could take it back."

Tommy stared at him, hand now fisting his football uniform as he processed Jason's words. His face scrunched up in anger suddenly and he dropped Jason to the ground, breathing hard from the adrenaline racing through him.

"So do I."

The green ranger stared down at the fallen red ranger. "Everything I've done to hurt you, I would gladly do again. You're nothing but a piece of shit, Jason. You let your emotions rule you in a moment when I needed you most."

He kicked him hard in the stomach, grabbing him by his shirt so that Jason was looking at him.

"You can never make up for what you did, and now that I know the truth, nothing will _ever_ stop me from coming after you," he hissed.

Tommy slammed his head into the lockers, causing Jason to groan.

"You kill me, and she'll never forgive you," Jason rasped out from the floor between hacking coughs.

Tommy stilled, glaring down at Jason before walking away.

'_I know.'_

_

* * *

_

**Oliver Residence**

**Living Room**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**8:43 PM**

"_A whole new world…a dazzling place I never kn_–"

Click.

"_Welcome to Jurassic P_-"

Click.

"_It's_ _time for Animaniacs and we're zany to the max. So just-_"

Click.

'_Why is there nothing good on?'_ Tommy thought crossly. He had been flipping through the channels for the last thirty minutes and was unable to find anything good on television.

His expression soured. _'That's not true.'_

He had actually found several shows he could watch, but he was too distracted by other thoughts to really enjoy what was on.

He sighed. _'It always goes back to Kimberly.'_

Since his argument with Jason in the locker room, Tommy's thoughts were stuck on the petite pink ranger. Jason's words were still echoing in his head.

_You were hurting her. _

Click.

_You told me you had feelings for her…_

Click.

_You never put her first._

Click.

_I did._

Tommy threw the remote across the room, slamming it into the wall where it broke into several pieces. He flexed his fingers to stop his hands from shaking.

"Tommy! What the hell has gotten into you?"

The teen looked up, glaring when he noticed his father looking at him in shock.

"Nothing," the green ranger answered gruffly. "Just aggravated."

The teen took note of the briefcase in his father's hand. "Late night tonight?" he asked, effectively changing the subject.

Frank nodded. "Yeah, got some work to finish."

Tommy snorted, pushing himself up from the couch. "I'm sure you do."

He stopped before passing his father. "Tell Janet 'hi.'"

The teen didn't wait for his father's response, choosing instead to head to his room. He slammed the door closed, locking it and running down the stairs.

'_He's probably shitting bricks right now,'_ thought Tommy with a nasty grin.

'_And he should. Mom's been nothing but good to him, and he decides it's okay to cheat on her because she's worried about me? I'm safe and sound now… so what's his excuse?'_

His lips curled in disgust. _'Pathetic.'_

Tommy walked over to his boom box, hitting the play button. "Jump" by Kriss Kross began to play. He pulled off his shirt, switching it for a black wifebeater. As he pulled out the wifebeater, he caught sight of a white shirt with the words "TOO SEXY" printed in large red letters resting at the bottom of his drawer.

Kimberly bought it for him once when she dragged him to the mall.

He grabbed the shirt, fingers running over the letters slowly.

_You were hurting her_.

His fingers stilled as Jason's words came back to him. _'I'm still hurting her.'_

_You kill me, and she'll never forgive you_.

He slammed his dresser closed as his frustration grew.

'_Jason betrayed you, Tommy. He even admitted it today. You can't let his actions go unpunished,'_ said a voice.

'_But what about Kimberly? You hurt Jason, you're dead to her. Is that what you want?'_ another voice chimed in.

The green rested his hands on the dresser, head bent as he tried to think. He raised his head, looking at himself in the mirror.

'_Is that what I want?'_

_

* * *

_

**Hart Residence**

**Kimberly's Room**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**11:31 PM**

Tommy materialized in Kimberly's bedroom, shrouded in darkness. He could make out her small form on the large bed. She looked as if the mattress would swallow her whole.

He moved quietly around the room so that he was standing over her. Tommy crouched next to her bed, sitting on his knees next to her.

Her face was turned towards him, chestnut locks covering her face. She was surrounded by stuffed animals, and he smiled slightly at the pink monkey resting comfortably in her arms. Next to her head was a red T-Rex, and he scowled, knowing Jason had given her the offending object.

Between her pillow and the mattress was a small green dragon, and he pulled the toy out from underneath, knowing it was representative of him. He grabbed the T-Rex, flinging it across the room into her closet before setting the dragon next to her head. He smiled when she subconsciously rubbed her face against it.

He looked around the room, eyes drawn to the picture on her dresser. It was a framed photo of him, her, and Jason from junior year. In the center of the photo was a grinning Kimberly in a pink sundress. To her left was a smiling Jason, their hands clasped together tightly. Tommy stood behind her with a wide grin, arm wrapped around her shoulders in the front, his head resting beside hers. Her right hand was resting on top of his, their fingers playing with each other's.

'_What a mess we made…'_ he thought as he held the picture up, fingers running over the glass.

If someone were to tell him then that he'd end up becoming the green ranger and sleeping with his then-best friend's girl, he'd have laughed in their face.

'_Time changes everything, huh?'_

He put the picture down, turning back to look at Kimberly. He sat down gently on her bed, carefully brushing her hair out of her face. She looked peaceful as she slept, moonlight shining on her through her window, and it made him think of the night he watched over her as she slept when she called him over to her house.

'_So beautiful.'_

Tommy trailed a finger along her hairline, trailing it down the side of her face to her cheek. The warmth of her skin warmed him internally. His fingers moved to her eyes, trailing over her eyelashes and heading down to her mouth. Her lips parted slightly, and he could feel her breaths on his fingers.

'_I need to go,'_ he thought when he felt a familiar feeling of longing in the pit of his stomach.

He stood, jumping slightly when he felt soft hands grab his. He looked down, meeting the startled eyes of Kimberly.

"Tommy?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, it's me," he croaked out. He felt the tug on his hand, and he slowly sat back down.

Kim sat up, blinking away the sleep from her eyes. "What are you doing here?" she whispered.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I just- I don't know," he admitted. "I had to see you… so I'm here."

His mind was screaming that he needed to leave.

"I told you not to come after me," she reminded him with narrowed eyes.

"I know… but I never listen to you." He gave a crooked smile. "And you haven't tried to hit me yet."

She nodded, watching him warily. "I'm still mad at you." Her fingers caressed his cheeks and he shivered slightly. "But I'm kinda happy to see you… That makes me a terrible person."

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I didn't like how we left things," he confessed.

"You mean when everything went to Hell?" She looked at him incredulously. "Did you think you would just come over here and fix it? Put a nice band-aid over it and make it all better?"

He remained silent, pondering her words.

What the hell did he think he could say or do to fix _any _of this?

Kim sighed, hands dropping from his face. "I don't know what to do about you. You hurt me badly, Tommy… I want you out of my life."

She rested her forehead against his. "You have no idea how much I wish I didn't feel anything for you."

He laughed mirthlessly. "I think I do."

'_More than you know.'_

Kim grabbed his hands in hers. "I really could have _loved_ you, Tommy," she whispered. "But you're not the man I need you to be and you never will be. You're poison to me. All I will ever get from being with you is pain."

She looked at him with watery eyes, though her voice remained firm. "I can't be with someone who purposefully hurts me."

He hadn't expected her words to hurt as badly as they did, and he felt a sting in his eyes.

"I understand. The choices I make are only hurting you, and I don't–" He cleared his throat, forcing the words out. "I don't want -" He paused. "You need to stay away from me."

There was no emotion behind his words, only logic and he found it both irritating and a great relief. He didn't feel bad at all for how things happened between him and Kimberly, though he knew he should. But at the same time, part of him was glad that he wasn't feeling the same emotional turmoil that she and Jason were experiencing.

He was free.

"Then why are you here?" she asked.

Alarms were going off in his head; he needed to leave _now_.

"I just wanted you to know…" he trailed off.

She gave him an inquiring look. "Know what?"

'_Don't do it!'_ his mind screamed. _'Zedd will kill you.'_

And then another voice, smaller and barely audible, spoke up.

'_Zedd's not here. He won't know.'_

Tommy looked her in the eyes, voice dropping to a hoarse whisper. "I wasn't using you for sex. I know it seems that way but…" He took a deep breath. "It wasn't. Everything's just…complicated."

She said nothing to indicate she believed him.

He licked his lips. "And I wanted you to know… I think…I think if things were different… I-I think I could have loved you, too."

Kim's eyes widened at his confession, and she began to cry softly. Tommy released her hands, pulling her to him.

'_What the hell am I doing? Why did I have to say that?'_

"Why did you have to say that?" she asked against his chest sadly, echoing his thoughts. "God…"

He pulled back, smiling roguishly. "I like to make things difficult."

She laughed softly, though he could tell it was forced.

"Come here," he whispered.

She looked at him with trepidation, and he leaned forward, capturing her lips in a soft kiss. Kim immediately tensed up, and he felt her sigh against his lips when the kiss ended.

"I missed you," she whispered. "But I hate you _so_ much right now."

"Likewise," he admitted.

He heard her snort softly, as if she didn't believe a word he said.

'_But why should she?'_

"You played me, Tommy. I cheated on Jason with you, shared a part of myself with you… and all you did was hurt me."

She frowned, hands playing with his idly. "The others are so disappointed in me for what I did to Jason and the team, especially Zack… you'd think I learned, but here I am again. Alone… with you."

Her breath hitched in her throat, and he winced when he heard her voice crack. "You took Zordon away from us…from _me_…how could you do that?"

She pulled her hands from him, wringing them in her lap. "But I guess the better question is how could I have been stupid enough to think otherwise?" she asked herself softly. "I honeestly thought there was still good in you...how pathetic am I?"

Tommy clenched his jaw tightly, refusing to comment.

"I want to be over you." Kim looked at him sadly. "I need to be."

He grabbed her face in his hands. "Tomorrow, you can be." His thumb brushed her cheekbone. "But tonight… let's just make the most of it."

He moved to kiss her again, and she pulled away slightly, hands pressed against his chest. "This is what caused us so much trouble in the first place."

He shook his head. "It's only one night."

Tommy was alarmed at the swirl of anger that flashed briefly in her eyes. "Good to see you weren't just using me for sex."

He opened his mouth to argue with her, but simply closed it when he saw the futility in trying. The anger in her brown eyes was now replaced with a deep hurt, and he was forced to look away.

Kim cleared her throat, hands still firmly against his chest. "I spoke to Jason today," she whispered, changing the subject.

Tommy looked at her with unseeing eyes, heart racing a mile a minute. "About?"

"We're kinda talking again… h-he's still incredibly angry and I hurt him so badly but… he thinks he may be able to forgive what I've done…in time."

There was a tense silence following her words.

"You want to get back with him." It wasn't a question.

She ran a finger along Tommy's jaw. "I'm not messing this up again. I can't."

He flinched when she cupped his jaw in her hands. The cool metal of her promise ring felt like icy fire on his flesh.

"And what about us?" he asked, though deep down he already knew the answer.

She sat back with a strange expression. "There is no _us_, Tommy. The sneaking around and lying…you made me look like a _fool_… I can't do it anymore, Tommy. I won't. And with the Dark Empire invading..."

He shot her a surprised look. "You know about that, huh?"

She rolled her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips. "Yeah. That many ships headed to Earth with Zedd's insignia on the side? Kinda hard to miss. The Eltarian Empire is sending reinforcements."

He nodded. "You'll need it."

She sighed. "I don't doubt it. You're good at what you do."

His brown eyes bore down into hers, and she closed her eyes as if in pain when his hand trailed down the side of her face.

"You need to go," she said in a strained whisper.

His thumb brushed her lips softly, and he could see the hurt in her face. "Okay."

He eyed her for several seconds before kissing her hard on the lips, savoring the feel of her lips against his for most likely the last time. She didn't respond for some time, and he wasn't sure she would until he heard her moan, tongue finding his with ease. His hands found the sides of her face, deepening the kiss as he pushed her onto her back. He groaned when she sucked his tongue into her mouth, and the two finally broke apart when the need for air arose.

They breathed heavily, and Tommy knew if he pushed, they could probably spend the night between her sheets.

'_But I can't. Things are bad enough as they are.'_

"Goodbye, Kimberly," he said lowly, face hovering over hers briefly before pulling away to disappear into the shadows of her room.

"Bye, Tommy," she whispered back to the darkness.

He watched her for a short while from the shadows before teleporting out in a flash of green light, leaving her room for the last time.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Author's Note:** Next chapter. I'm posting this now because my semester is about to get really hectic and I won't have time to post anything until the end of December. Plus, I'm feeling really really sick and need a break. :(_

_That being said, please read and review. :). All feedback is appreciated._

* * *

**Command Center**

**Main Corridor**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**Friday, 11:16 PM**

Tommy shook his head as he made his way down the hallway of the command center.

'_What's wrong with them? You'd think that they would have taken certain precautions to secure their command center given how easily I destroyed it the last time.'_

The door to the control room opened, and Tommy raised an eyebrow at what he saw. The panels were almost completely fixed, Alpha 5 was back together, and Zordon's energy tube was cackling with static.

Tommy rushed down the ramp, yanking up the panels once again.

"Can't have you getting too far," he whispered as he blew open the panel.

"Intruder! Intruder!" The green ranger jumped when the small robot started yelling at him.

He ran over to Alpha 5. "Shut up," he hissed.

"Intruder! Intruder! Rangers, please –"

Alpha 5's body split into several pieces, hand spinning before it came to rest at Tommy's feet. Green energy and smoke rose from his outstretched hand.

'_Stupid robot.'_

He turned to the remaining panels, blowing them apart and hacking the wires with his Dragon dagger. He smiled when Zordon's energy tube once again went dark.

"That's done," he whispered. "Now for the next part."

Tommy teleported from the Command Center to Angel Grove Park, landing several feet away from the battle between the Megazord and Goldar and Scorpina.

He flinched at the sight of Scorpina, still slightly disturbed by how hideous she looked when she grew to that size.

'_How could something so big and ugly be inside someone so small and hot?'_ he thought to himself, not for the first time.

The Megazord staggered from a strong blow of Scorpina's sword, and it fell onto its back when Goldar kicked it hard in the chest. The large zord rolled, climbing back to its feet and taking a defensive stance.

'_This is taking too long,' _thought Tommy. _'We need to end this now.'_

He wished his Dragonzord wasn't undergoing Finster's many upgrades. Hit by a sudden idea, the green ranger ran full speed toward the Megazord.

"I hope this works," he whispered before jumping as high as he could in the air, latching on to the Megazord's back.

Tommy carefully climbed the back of the Megazord, hissing when he nearly flew off when it jerked wildly. He would've teleported, but the machine was moving too much for him to have a sure spot to land.

At least the element of surprise was on his side. No one would think he was crazy enough to do this.

His limbs burned as he made his way up; he was relieved when he finally made it to the machine's shoulder. The teen pulled himself up, curling his body so that he rested inside of the crevice. He was sweating inside his suit, droplets on his forehead. He braced himself, careful not to fall.

'_This thing is tall,'_ he thought as he looked down below him.

Taking a deep breath, Tommy crawled out of his hiding place, climbing so that he was standing on the Megazord's shoulder. He could clearly see Goldar and Scorpina before the machine, legs lifting to deliver a power kick to the Megazord's chest.

"Aw, shit," he whispered before clutching onto the neck of the machine, nearly flying off from the force of their kick. His head rattled, and he shook away the dizziness that hit him.

"Need to make this quick."

When the Megazord steadied itself, the green ranger made his move, moving over to climb into the ear of the zord. He pressed his coin into the side panel there, and the door slid open with a soft hiss. Tommy ran inside, grinning when he walked into the cockpit of the Megazord.

'_Showtime.'_

Shouts broke out in the small room at Tommy's sudden appearance.

He saw Billy first and grabbed the blue ranger by the front of his suit.

"What the–" Tommy punched Billy in the face, grabbing and dragging him roughly out of his seat to the back of the cockpit. The blue ranger struggled violently against the green ranger the closer he got to the door. "Tommy, let me go!"

Tommy laughed, opening the door to Megazord. "Gladly."

He kicked Billy in the chest, sending the screaming teen down to the ground.

"Billy! NO!" shouted Trini from behind.

Tommy turned, knee slamming into the yellow ranger's stomach. He grabbed her by her throat, dangling her body outside the door. He could feel hands tugging on him from behind, voices begging him to leave Trini alone.

He released her, laughing as her body fell rapidly to the ground. A stabbing sensation on his spine startled him, and he turned in time to see Zack pounce on him. The black ranger slammed his fist into Tommy's helmet repeatedly.

Tommy growled, pushing his legs between their bodies and flipping Zack over his head. The black ranger landed on his back, rolling over in pain. He fell from the Megazord, hand clutching its side at the last second.

The green ranger made his way over to him, foot slamming down on Zack's fingers. Zack cried out in pain, and Tommy moved his foot from side to side, breaking Zack's grip. He lifted his foot, and the black ranger flailed wildly as he fell to the ground, screaming in fear.

"I never liked you anyway," muttered Tommy.

Tommy suddenly found himself on his stomach, hanging halfway off the shoulder of the Megazord. A knee was pressed into his back and he winced at the pain.

"What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?" asked an enraged Jason. "You could have killed them!"

Tommy was rolled onto his back, and he gasped when Jason's fist connected with his ribcage.

"That's the point, Jase," he choked out.

Tommy swung at the red ranger, fist connecting with his helmet. Jason grunted, grip never loosening as he took the blows.

Tommy's eyes rolled into his head and his hands sought his Dragon dagger at his waist. He found the handle, fingers wrapping around it before he yanked upwards, shoving the small knife into Jason's side. The red ranger screamed, rolling off the green ranger.

Tommy shook his head, coughing as he caught his breath. Quickly, he climbed to his feet, slamming into Jason and twisting the dagger in his side.

"Tommy!" cried out the younger boy.

The green ranger growled, pressing the dagger harder into his side. "It's not a good feeling is it, red ranger? Knowing that the only person controlling your fate would rather see you die than do the honorable thing and save you."

Tommy grabbed Jason by his throat, using his powers to crush his windpipe. Jason twisted violently in his grip.

Tommy's voice dropped to a whisper. "I hope you survive this fall… I want to see the fear in your eyes when I kill you."

He yanked out the dagger, letting the red ranger go before kicking Jason in the stomach with enough force to make him plummet to the ground below.

"Goodbye, Jason."

Tommy froze when he heard the sound of string being pulled behind him, and he turned to see a pink arrow hovering in front of his face.

Kim was in position to shoot.

He took a deep breath. "Kim…"

"Shut up," she snarled, pulling the string tighter. "You have nothing to say to me, _green ranger_. You are my enemy."

His eyes trailed from the arrow to her visor. "Then why haven't you shot me yet? You had the chance to save Jason…but you didn't."

Her hands shook slightly, bow and arrow quivering in her grasp. "Why are you doing this?" she croaked out. He could tell she was crying behind her visor.

He glanced quickly at Scorpina and Goldar who were watching him carefully.

"I have no choice."

She dropped the arrow slightly. "What do you mean, you d–"

His hand shot out, wrapping around her throat tightly, and he shivered when he felt her struggle against him. He dangled her small form in the air, chest tight when her hands wrapped around his wrist in fear.

"Goodbye, pink ranger."

He let her go and her fingers slipped, and it seemed as if her body fell to the ground in slow motion. He looked away before her body hit the ground, jaw clenched painfully as he teleported from the Megazord down to the ground.

Tommy watched numbly as Scorpina and Goldar hacked away at the defenseless Megazord, its parts flying around as they attacked. In the dark, he could make out the forms of the power rangers on the ground. They were huddled together, some still unconscious while the others watched helplessly as their zords were destroyed.

He could make out Jason holding Kim's fragile form in his arms; helmet off as he held her face in his hands, blood pouring from his wounded side. Tommy watched them exchange words, unable to make out what they were saying from his position, but he figured he knew the story when Jason pulled her into a tight hug.

And she hugged him back just as fiercely.

Tommy felt nausea hit him strongly, nearly bringing the teenager to his knees.

'_I can't be here,'_ he said to himself, quickly teleporting away.

There was nothing there for him to see.

* * *

**Lunar Palace**

**Throne Room**

**The Moon**

**Saturday, Local time, unknown**

"What is the status of the power rangers?"

Tommy looked at Lord Zedd on the small screen. The emperor was calling in from Serpentera.

"The Megazord has been destroyed, master. All that is left of the zords is scrap metal," said Goldar.

The green ranger stared at Zedd with unseeing eyes, mentally replaying Kimberly dropping from the Megazord in his head over and over again.

"And the Command Center?"

Tommy spoke up. "Has been taken care of."

"Excellent." The emperor's gaze turned to the generals on the other screens. "Status report on the invasion?"

General Elgar spoke up. "We will be invading the planet Earth in two days at dawn. All soldiers are ready for battle, sir."

Tommy had met General Elgar the day before when the creature was beamed to the Lunar Palace. He and the other generals met with Goldar to coordinate their attacks for the upcoming invasion. The green ranger would be leading an army of ten thousand foot soldiers in Europe, attacking first Paris and then Berlin. Accompanying them was one warship and six megaships for aerial cover.

"The plan is to hit ten major regions of the planet, namely highly-populated cities. We will be hitting Los Angeles, Beijing, Paris, New York City, Moscow, Delhi, Seoul, Lagos, Buenos Aires, and Istanbul. At dawn, we will launch simultaneous aerial attacks on the cities for an hour straight. After that, each general will send in their army to launch a ground attack," Goldar explained.

Zedd nodded. "What size are the armies?"

"Ten thousand soldiers. That leaves us with 150,000 foot soldiers to spare."

"When will you be addressing the people of Earth about the invasion?" asked the emperor.

"Tonight."

It was intergalactic law that any intention to invade must be announced at least a day in advance to give the inhabitants of the planet the opportunity to surrender in order to avoid bloodshed.

"How are the negotiations going with the KAX union?" asked Scorpina.

Zedd sighed. "It appears I will be detained for longer than I anticipated. They wish to hold off negotiations until the ambassadors from Eltar arrive."

Tommy winced internally. _'That's going to be ugly.'_

"Understood," said Goldar. "The invasion will go as scheduled. I will send you updates."

Zedd nodded. "Status reports on those of you that are not part of the invasion of Earth? Edenoi?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary on Edenoi. The population is growing steadily and trade with neighboring Mirinoi is going well," said Commander Archerina.

"Excellent. Liaria?"

Commander Barbarax spoke up. "Two thousand have enlisted in the army as of yesterday. Employment rates are up with the new construction and restoration projects. Crime is also at its lowest rate in years."

Tommy raised an eyebrow at this, impressed by what the commander reported.

'_They can't even do that on Earth,'_ he mused. _'Maybe the planet will be better off under Zedd's control.'_

"KO-35?"

There was a pause before Commander Diabolico cleared his throat.

"The rebels have taken over the southeast sector of the capital city."

'_Oh, shit,'_ thought Tommy when he saw Lord Zedd radiate in anger.

"And how did that happen, commander?" asked the emperor in an eerily calm voice.

"I-I don't know, sir. The soldiers were monitoring the situation. I guess the rebels must have –"

"You _guess_?" snarled Zedd. "I did not make you a commander to _guess_, Diabolico!"

"I know, sir." The room was filled with a tense silence.

Zedd rubbed his forehead as if warding off a headache. "The situation on KO-35 needs to be handled immediately. Diabolico, since you have proven your incompetence, you will serve as general."

The horned creature's eyes widened. "But, sir–"

Zedd raised his voice, speaking over Diabolico. "Goldar, prepare a ship for immediate departure. You will be going to KO-35 to contain the situation and serve as acting commander."

The winged beast looked at Lord Zedd in confusion. "I thought I was to remain on Earth as the acting Commander for the invasion."

Zedd shook his head. "There's been a change of plans."

His gaze turned to Tommy. "The green ranger will head the invasion with Scorpina as his second-in-command."

A chorus of protests rang out in the room, and Tommy found himself amongst those against Zedd's decision.

"Sir, you can't seriously think this boy can lead an invasion?" asked General Rygog incredulously.

Tommy didn't like the ugly general, but he had to admit he was thinking the same thing.

'_What the hell is he doing?'_

"The green ranger is more capable than you realize, Rygog."

Goldar shook his head. "Would it not be more suitable for Scorpina to head the invasion? She has far more experience than the pup at fighting."

_'Yeah,'_ thought Tommy in agreement._ 'Scorpina has way more fighting experience than me.'_

"This is true, but Scorpina is only skilled in war. Being a commander involves both fighting and political knowledge, Goldar," reminded Zedd.

"Tommy has been trained by Scorpina herself; she can vouch for his fighting skills," Zedd told the generals. "He is an excellent strategist – Goldar and Scorpina know this is true as well."

The winged warrior's jaw clenched tightly as he nodded.

"The green ranger is also from Earth, making him the perfect choice to speak to them on matters of diplomacy as he is familiar with their governmental structure and cultural practices. They are more likely to listen to someone they can relate to; who better than one of their own?"

Tommy had to admit that there was some logic to what Zedd was saying.

Didn't make the idea of leading the invasion of his home planet any less terrifying.

"I must speak up," stated Commander Archerina. "How do we know his being from Earth won't cause him to betray us during battle? He may feel compelled to fight for his people."

The teen felt the heat creep us his neck, body hot underneath his sweatshirt from anger.

The green ranger saw Commander Bansheera nod in agreement. "Lord Zedd, you know as well as I do that planning and execution are very different. You say this boy is good at strategy, and I do not doubt this, but can he really handle the challenge of leading a large-scale invasion?"

Tommy growled, eyes flashing green. The noise caught the attention of everyone in the room, and he stood before them.

"I will _not_ allow you to sit here and insult me for one more second. Yes, I admittedly lack the experience that all of you have, but were you not in my position once? Did you not have to prove yourself in battle?"

They remained silent at his words, and he could feel Zedd's piercing gaze on him from the screen across the room.

He stared at them. "I am young, but I am also powerful and smart. _I_ am the one who trapped Zordon of Eltar in his time warp. _I_ am the one that destroyed the base of operations for the power rangers, twice, making it difficult for them to find their leader. And _I_ am the one that orchestrated the plan that destroyed their zords, leaving them defenseless when the Earth is on the brink of war. I know the power rangers and their capabilities better than anyone in this room."

Tommy took a deep breath to calm his nerves; he now had their attention. He just needed to get them to listen.

"You are forgetting I will not be alone. All of you, who have years of experience in war, will be at my side. For this invasion, I am most suited for matters of diplomacy – I will still look to you for assistance and guidance throughout this war."

He smiled internally when he saw the resistance in their faces melt away. The only one looking at him with mistrust was Goldar, but that was to be expected.

"Lord Zedd believes I can lead this invasion; I think it would be unwise to second guess our emperor. Failure is not an option, and I can only succeed if you work with me. I am asking you to do that now."

Tommy looked each general in the eyes, his gaze remaining firm with theirs. Scorpina gave an imperceptible nod in his direction, and he took that as her approval.

He didn't need the generals to be on his side; regardless of whether or not they thought him capable, they would have followed him out of fear of what Zedd would do. But Tommy realized that for the invasion to be successful, it would be beneficial if he already had their trust.

He didn't mind a little butt-kissing if it got the job done.

Zedd looked at the green ranger. "From this moment forth, the green ranger will be referred to as Commander Oliver. All decisions regarding the invasion will be deferred to him in my absence. Is that understood?"

Zedd's words sounded garbled to the teen's ears. Tommy's stomach dropped as he realized his impassioned speech had sealed his fate.

'_Oh God,'_ he thought, suddenly feeling light-headed. _'What the hell did I just do?'_

Tommy faintly heard the chorus of "yes, sir" around the room.

'_I really have no idea what the fuck I'm doing,'_ he thought in mild panic. _'Zedd has to be crazy entrusting an eighteen-year-old kid with leading a war. Why did I even agree to this? I can't invade Earth!'_

'_Yes, you can,'_ spoke up a voice. _'Zedd knows you can. Scorpina knows, too. You're ready for this, Tommy.'_

'_But this is Earth… this is my home. I have family here… I grew up here. I can't just destroy it because someone commands me to,'_ he argued.

'_Well, does death sound like a better option?'_ the voice hissed. _'You've already fucked yourself, kid. You got all these people believing you can do the job. Zedd's not going to let you embarrass him. Deal with it.'_

"Commander?"

Tommy snapped out of his thoughts, finally realizing that Zedd had been addressing him.

"Yes?" He hoped no one else could tell he was about to piss himself.

"The invasion?"

Tommy blinked, aware that everyone was watching him, waiting for his instruction.

He cleared his throat. "Right."

The green ranger sat slowly in his chair, and he could feel Zedd's cool gaze on his body.

"Here's what we need to do."

* * *

**Oliver Residence**

**Dining Room**

**Angel Grove, CA**

**7:41 PM**

"Tommy? You okay, sweetie?"

The green ranger had barely touched his food at dinner, staring blankly at the plate before him. He looked up when his mother called his name.

"What?"

She reached over, the back of her hand resting against his forehead before moving to his neck. "You don't seem to be warm. Are you feeling okay?" she asked, concerned.

He stared at her. "Yeah, mom. I'm fine. Just tired is all."

"See, Sandy? I told you he was fine," said Frank with a smile. "He's a teenager. You remember what it was like at his age."

Tommy wanted to laugh. _'You have no idea what I'm going through, dad.'_

He pushed his plate away. "Actually… I think I'm just- I think I'm done eating for tonight. Not that hungry."

Frank raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

The teen nodded. "Yeah, I need to lay down for a bit."

He grabbed his plate, dumping it in the trash before placing it in the sink. His mother walked over to him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

He ignored the tightness in his chest. It was difficult to talk to her, knowing in just a few hours, she might be dead from an invasion that he was planning.

"Tommy?" she called to him, gaze inquiring.

The green ranger cleared his throat, pulling his mother to him in a hug. "Thanks, mom."

Sandra stiffened in surprise at the gesture before hugging him back. "I don't know what I did to warrant a hug, but I'll take it," she said with a chuckle.

He pulled back. "Sorry, I just…" He paused, the invasion weighing heavily on his mind as he stared at her.

His mother would probably be dead in the next few days because of this war, an innocent in all of this.

The thought made him feel… _nothing_.

"…I'm tired," he finished lamely. "Goodnight, mom."

He ignored her confused expression, nodding in his father's direction. The older man gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.

Tommy headed to his room, rushing down the stairs and grabbing his Nike gym bag off the couch. He opened the bag, throwing it on his bed before heading to his dresser, grabbing clothes and anything else he would need. His house would most likely be destroyed during the invasion, so he wanted to take everything that was essential with him now. When his bag was filled to the brim, he rushed to his closet, pulling out a large suitcase and throwing it open.

Tommy shoved armful after armful of stuff into his suitcase, paying special attention to grab anything warm. It was too cold at the Lunar Palace to wear shorts.

He moved to his desk, grabbing trinkets and pictures of importance to him, including a picture of his family.

'_They're going to think I'm dead when they can't find me._' He knew that would crush his mother.

He carefully placed them in his backpack, not wanting to damage the items. In the background, Tommy heard the telephone ring.

'_Mom can get it,'_ he thought as he rushed around the room. His eyes caught sight of the clock.

He had fifteen minutes before the broadcast to the leaders of Earth.

Tommy dropped to the floor, reaching underneath to grab his lockbox with his social security card and passport.

'_Mom's always telling me to take this stuff,'_ he mused. _'You never know.'_

He heard his mother yelling his name, telling him to pick up the phone.

'_Who the hell would be calling me?'_ he wondered as he picked up the phone.

"Got it, mom!" He heard her hang up on the line.

"Hello?"

"**Tommy**_._" It was Kimberly.

"Um… hey…" he said slowly, confused as to why she called since she made it clear she wanted to stay away from him.

"**We need to talk**_._"

He walked around the room, phone tucked between his ear and shoulder as he shrugged on his backpack.

"Now's _really_ not a good time, Kim. I'm kinda in the middle of something." He switched the phone to his other shoulder as he put on the other strap of his backpack. "Shouldn't you be making plans with your friends anyway, pink ranger?"

He heard her sniff on the other side of the line, and he paused in his tracks. "What's wrong?"

She began to cry harder at his words, and he became agitated at her lack of response. "Kim?" he asked gruffly.

A crack sounded in his room, and Scorpina stood before him. He held up a hand for her to wait.

"Talk to me."

He heard her take a shaky breath on the line. "**I don't even know where to start**."

Tommy watched Scorpina close up his suitcase and gym bag before turning to him with an expectant look.

"The beginning might be nice." He was growing impatient.

He heard her sigh. "**There's no easy way to say this**…"

He mouthed the words "five more minutes" to Scorpina, who rolled her eyes.

"If you're going to tell me about _him_, save it. I don't want to know and I don't care."

"**Tommy**…"

"No. You said it yourself – there is no us. I think you can do better, but that's your choice. Don't expect any special treatment because of what happened in the past."

He was careful with his choice in words, not wanting Scorpina to realize who he was talking to.

"**You've got it wrong**," she said softly.

Scorpina tapped her wrist impatiently, and the green ranger nodded.

Time was up.

"Look, I need to leave. I don't have time for th–"

"**I'm pregnant**."

The air left Tommy's lungs all at once, and his brown eyes widened in shock.

He had to have heard her wrong.

"**Tommy? Tommy, are you there?**"

The phone felt heavy in his hands. _'Pregnant?'_

"**Tommy, please say something**..." Her tone was desperate.

He opened his mouth, but not a single word would come to him.

"**Tommy, what are you–?**" Scorpina snatched the phone from him, throwing it to the ground and breaking it into several pieces.

"We need to go, Commander. _Now_." She grabbed tightly onto his wrist, and he felt the familiar sensation of teleportation wash over his body. He blinked when he found himself in the throne room.

'_Kim's pregnant…'_

Scorpina grabbed his backpack, pulling it off of him. "Squatt! Baboo!" The two creatures rushed into the room hurriedly.

"Take his things to his new quarters immediately," she ordered.

Tommy raised his hands to his face. _'Oh, God…'_

A smack on his arm shook him from his reverie. "What?"

"I _said_ you need to change into your uniform. We can't do the broadcast with you as Tommy Oliver."

He nodded numbly, morphing into his power suit. He sat down at the throne, hands gripping the armrests numbly.

'_I'm going to be a father… I'm going to be a father… Kimberly's having my child… if Zedd finds out-'_

"Ten seconds until broadcast," said Finster.

'_I need to find her… I shouldn't be here… I can't start the invasion if she's pregnant…'_

He thought back on the night before, when he and the others destroyed the Megazord… how he threw the rangers out of the cockpit. He could see her falling again in his head.

'_She had to be pregnant when that happened.'_ He felt the bile rise in his throat. _'I could've killed my child.'_

"Begin broadcast," said Finster excitedly.

Tommy licked his dry lips, staring blankly at the screen before him. He looked around him at the expectant faces of the other generals and Finster.

'_They're waiting on you,'_ a voice whispered in his head. _'Get it together.'_

"Citizens of Earth, you may know me as the green ranger, servant of Lord Zedd and the Dark Empire. I am sending you this message as a warning. Your planet will soon be invaded by the Dark Empire, resulting in a war of brutality and numerous deaths. The only way to avoid this fate is to surrender to Lord Zedd in peace."

He paused, the image of Kimberly with a swollen belly coming to mind. _'Stop it, Oliver.'_

"The time for negotiation is now, and the window of opportunity is quickly closing. You have 24 hours or your planet will face destruction at the hands of our soldiers."

His heart beat loudly in his ears, but he could still make out Kim's faint voice over the thunderous noise.

_I'm pregnant._

Tommy stared at the screen with bleary eyes, hands gripping the armrests to keep from shaking. All eyes were on him; he couldn't lose it now.

"Whatever you decide, know this. We are coming for your planet, and we will not lose."

* * *

_Aaaaand this is where part I ends, LOL. _

_Look for part II, _Cost of Revenge: Lost_, around December when this horrible semester is finally over._


End file.
